Albus Potter and the Scepter of Shadows
by Crystalline Iridescentia
Summary: Albus Severus Potter wants a peaceful second year at Hogwarts, but he doesn't get his wish. His powers are emerging, and he's having nightmares about a boy from the past—a boy strangely like himself. Darkness has returned to Hogwarts, and the students are being attacked by magical monsters. What is behind the attacks, and is it all Albus's fault in the end? Book 2/7. COMPLETE!
1. One Thousand Years Before

**Author's Note: I suggest that you read the first one first. Look on my profile for it. **

**In case you're interested in a more in-detail summary/blurb:**

_Albus Severus Potter, second son and middle child of Harry Potter, wishes for nothing more than to prove himself worthy of his name. He has always been the outcast of his family, the one who is forgotten, ignored, and looked over. Still, Albus desperately wants to show the world that he is a hero, not a loser. But this is made difficult when his Sorting goes terribly wrong, and all the bullies in the school make him a victim. Even as he tries his hardest to prove himself as someone who is not the 'bad egg' or 'black sheep' of his family, he is thrown back in his efforts, doomed to always be the disgrace and disappointment._

_But now, danger is rapidly approaching, and darkness is returning to the long-peaceful wizarding world. An ancient evil that has been biding its time for one thousand years is stirring, preparing to drag the wizarding world back into an abyss of terror. This enemy, one that has slumbered for uncountable centuries, is now waking up, and vengeance is on its mind. Its goal is to destroy the world... and rule the new one that rises from the ashes. Meanwhile, Albus is learning that his destiny rivals that of his father, and that it is up to him to save the world from this terrible evil—an evil greater than anything seen before it._

_In his second year, Albus simply wishes to be normal. Unfortunately for him, he begins to have nightmares about a boy from the past—a boy that is alarmingly similar to him. In addition to this, Albus's powers are growing, and several freak incidents cause the students of Hogwarts to turn on him. Meanwhile, he is having trouble keeping his throne in Slytherin due to an unexpected adversary, who seems determined to reorganize Slytherin House's monarchy. On top of it all, Hogwarts is being plagued by mysterious attacks. Dangerous magical monsters are attacking the students and sending them into an irreversible coma, and all these monsters seem to have a common goal: _

_Kill Albus Severus Potter—and everyone who stands in the way. _

**And now, I present to you...**

* * *

**~Albus Potter and the Scepter of Shadows~**

_Book 2_

**Based on the ideas and places of JK Rowling.**

* * *

**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

**_Chapter One_**

ONE THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE

_ooo_

**_Chapter Two_**

THE MINISTRY PARTY

_ooo_

**_Chapter Three_**

THE DAY AND NIGHT ALLEYS

_ooo_

**_Chapter Four_**

THE BOY OF THE PAST

_ooo_

**_Chapter Five_**

THE ACTING PROFESSOR

_ooo_

**_Chapter Six_**

FREAK

_ooo_

**_Chapter Seven_**

A GHOSTLY WARNING

_ooo_

**_Chapter Eight_**

DUELING, DOXIES, AND DREAMS

_ooo_

**_Chapter Nine_**

THE HUNT FOR THE PREY

_ooo_

**_Chapter Ten_**

SUSPICIONS AND SERPENTS

_ooo_

**_Chapter Eleven_**

THE OCCAMY ARMY

_ooo_

**_Chapter Twelve_**

MONSTER

_ooo_

**_Chapter Thirteen_**

THE ERUMPENT INCIDENT

_ooo_

**_Chapter Fourteen_**

THE CURSE OF THE UMBRELIXIR

_ooo_

**_Chapter Fifteen_**

THE ESSENCE OF THE SHADOWS

_ooo_

**_Chapter Sixteen_**

THE AURORS' ARRIVAL

_ooo_

**_Chapter Seventeen_**

THE SAPPHIRE UNICORN

_ooo_

**_Chapter Eighteen_**

THE FINAL VICTIM

_ooo_

**_Chapter Nineteen_**

THE SCEPTER OF SLYTHERIN

_ooo_

**_Chapter Twenty_**

SHINING LIGHT

* * *

**-Chapter One-**

**One Thousand Years Before**

The night was clear, and a full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the clearing beneath it. Two figures stood there, their silhouettes dark.

One was a man, and another was a woman. They were standing extremely close to each other, and between them was a bundle of blankets. Cradled within the cloth was an adorable baby girl, looking serene in her sleep. As the man and the woman watched, the little girl woke up and opened her eyes, which were a dazzling blue-violet.

"We have to leave," said the woman quietly, looking up. Her eyes were the precise shade of the baby girl's. "She can't grow up in a world like this."

"We can't run from our separate Regiments," said the man. "We have a war to fight. Both of us."

"But our daughter has no battle with anyone," the woman insisted. "Why must she suffer?"

The man sighed undecidedly. He focused his ice-blue eyes on the woman. "We can't abandon our duties, Myrinda."

The woman's—Myrinda's—eyes flashed angrily. "You know that our love is forbidden! We're on opposite sides! If we're found out, we both die, and she does, too! We have to run, Luke."

"But there is nowhere to run! The Paradox is unstoppable. He is quickly destroying the world! We can't run on forever," said the man in despair.

"You're right," Myrinda agreed. "There isn't much time left. But that's it, isn't it? The Paradox is destined to be defeated in this time period."

Luke looked despairingly at the woman. "Nobody's come close to stopping him!"

"Fate does not lie," Myrinda said firmly. "He will be defeated. The war will shift a thousand years."

"Shift a thousand years...," Luke echoed uncertainly.

"That's right," said Myrinda. "The prophecy has been uttered. A thousand years later, a second Paradox will be born—the Final Paradox. He is the only one with enough power to stop the First Paradox, and he's not here to save us."

"But—But—" Luke protested weakly. "You said that the First Paradox will be defeated in _this_ time period! If the only one who can stop him is the Final Paradox—a boy that will be born a thousand years later—then how can the First Paradox die?"

"He cannot die," Myrinda corrected. "The First Paradox will simply be slumbering for a thousand years, until it is time for the real war to begin. A thousand years from now..."

The man looked into the woman's eyes. Icy blue met purplish blue. The baby girl cooed between them, trying to pull her mother's light brown hair.

Then Luke clenched his fists. "I cannot trust a boy made from darkness to save us all! He will be just as evil and twisted as the first, mark my words."

"Then we'll have to keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't take the wrong direction," the woman said, unfazed. "It's time, Luke. We're going with our daughter. The Final Paradox will be there to protect her."

Myrinda reached inside her cloak and pulled out a time-turner. "I have had it modified so it can take us across generations. It will only work once before it self-destructs."

The man finally seemed convinced that running was the right thing to do. "We will the fight the war. But only when the time comes."

Myrinda locked eyes with the man she loved. "Take my locket. Give it to our daughter when she's old enough to wear it." She took off her locket and wrapped it in the blankets with the baby.

"What do you mean?" asked Luke, confused. "You can give it to her yourself."

Myrinda closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were shining with tears. "I have duties. I have to stop the First Paradox. _I_ have to send him into his slumber, as fate told me I must."

She turned the time-turner ten times. Ten centuries. One thousand years later. Then she pressed it into Luke's hand and walked away, out of his reach.

The man's eyes were blazing with anger. "No! We go together!" he shouted at her.

Myrinda turned away.

"You tricked me, Myrinda Lyon."

"I did, Luke Irving."

With the names of their lovers' on their lips, Myrinda and Luke spoke their last words to each other. A moment later, the man flickered and was gone.

"I will stop the First Paradox and send him into his slumber," Myrinda said to herself. She raised her head and looked into the moon. "I know that history will be erased, and that the wizarding world of a thousand years ago will be unprepared for the war that has been stirring ever since the beginning of time, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that help will be given to those who need it. I promise you this, Final Paradox. Save my daughter."

_I won't forget you, and I hope you will never forget me, my dear daughter, my Shining Light... Elina._

* * *

Harry Potter frowned as he thought of his son, Albus Severus Potter. What scared Harry most was Albus' magical ability. What young wizard glowed bright green whenever he was angry? What young wizard was capable of destroying whole rooms by a simple glare? What young wizard could possibly be powerful enough to be the Opponent of the Phantasm Orb?

Voldemort? Harry didn't think so. The young Tom Riddle had certainly had unusual control over his magic, like most powerful wizards. Albus... Albus was something more.

In addition to that, Albus' birth had been very problematic. He had caused chaos to the whole of St. Mungo's, and Ginny had been greatly weakened. Albus Severus Potter had too much magic, more than Voldemort's, or even Dumbledore's.

After the Ministry had learned of the trouble that newborn Albus was causing, they had threatened to lock him up in a special ward in order to investigate him. Albus was nothing but a test subject to them, and that had infuriated Harry. He had refused to let them touch Albus and had taken his newest family member and his wife back to their house in Godric's Hollow, determined to put the whole experience behind him and bring Albus up like a normal child.

And he had somewhat succeeded, until Albus had gone to Hogwarts, conquered the Phantasm Orb, defeated a Dark Wizard, and practically saved the whole world before his twelfth birthday.

Sighing, Harry stood up, placing Albus' birth certificate back on his office desk in the Ministry of Magic. Pictures adorned the walls, many of them featuring his family and friends. Harry's eyes lingered on a black and white picture of Albus as a seven year old. Albus was slumping at the foot of a tree, barely moving, and his eyes had a slightly _dark _look to them. He wasn't smiling.

Harry shuddered for reasons unknown to him. He quickly left the room and bumped straight into Ron, who was on his way in.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, feeling the urgency in Ron's gaze.

Ron rumpled his flaming red hair—which was rapidly balding—and said, "We've sensed two powerful _dark essences_ just now."

Harry gaped. "What?"

Ron nodded. "I've sent a memo to every important Ministry member. We'd better look carefully at the sensors to prepare a speech. This looks bad, Harry."

Harry quickened his pace to reach the Magic Sensor room.

It was—as expected—very dark, and a perpetual gloom hung over the place like a blanket. Needless to say, Harry did not like this place, but it was where the Traces of underage wizards and Dark Magic were watched.

Thousands of scrolls hung suspended in the air, quills constantly scribbling down new data. A seven-year-old girl had just shown signs of magic, and she was the first in her family for ten generations. Someone underage in a muggle household had used magic illegally, breaking the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. The quills recorded even the slightest fluctuation of magic, writing slowly at times and fast at others.

But one of the scrolls had quite a bit of data on it, and it was writing even more at an impossible speed. Ron led him to this one. A couple of Aurors were already standing in front of it, their eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Harry leaned closer to the scroll, his eyes scanning the information. "What the hell?" he said.

Ron chuckled dryly. "I thought that my vision was going funny when I looked at it, too."

"Get the Minister of Magic," Harry ordered. "Get _everybody._ Now. Send out extra memos."

One of the Aurors in the room left quickly, mumbling to himself about how quickly peace could be shattered.

"This is unbelievable," Harry whispered, taking another look at the scroll. "Nothing can be this powerful. But two of the same thing?"

"Want me to check your glasses?" Ron offered.

Before Harry could respond, however, Kingsley Shacklebolt swept into the room, his face very grave. "What is this that I've just heard?" Kingsley asked in a deep voice that cracked with worry.

Ron mutely pointed at the scroll while Harry explained. Kingsley stood in silence, inspecting the scroll. He threw his head back and laughed. _"Impossible."_

"We should get the meeting room set up," Harry suggested.

Kingsley nodded, still muttering to himself. "A child... a _child."_

"Do you think that there could be a mistake?" Harry said, glancing at the scroll one more time.

Kingsley shook his head gravely. "It appears that this—or _these_—might be the greatest threats the wizarding world has ever known."

Ending the conversation on that dark note, Harry, Kingsley, and Ron walked to the meeting room. Ron had a copy of the scroll's data, and Harry kept grabbing it to check it. How could it be? It broke all the laws of magic. Two immensely powerful essences made from Dark Magic—and one of them was a child. _How?_

A few minutes later, they arrived at the meeting room. Harry realized that he hadn't prepared a speech at all, but decided that it wouldn't matter. He'd had plenty of practice in giving speeches, after all.

The meeting room was very grand, and it had a high ceiling. The floor was made from marble, and Harry could see his reflection in it. A long glass table stretched the length of the room, and several people were already seated.

To both Harry and Ron's relief, Hermione was already there. If there was anyone who could help them with this mystery, it was her. The two Aurors hurried toward her. "What happened?" Hermione demanded, standing up as they approached. "The memo said that there were two impossibly powerful dark essences, one of them in the form of a child? What's going on?"

"I wish we knew," Ron muttered.

Harry handed her the scroll and she read it at top speed. Harry and Ron watched her reaction closely, and they were not too surprised when she looked as if she might faint.

"I've got to check something at the Ministry library," Hermione finally choked out. "It can't be possible. Not this kind of power. A child. _A child._ A child!"

"Listen to the meeting first," Ron told her, sitting down beside his wife. Harry took the scroll back and walked to the front of the table.

Several more people filtered in as the minutes passed, and Harry was getting extremely impatient. Finally, almost an hour later, every high-ranking member at the Ministry had arrived. The doors were closed, and Kingsley sat down at the head of the table. He waved his wand, and a ringing noise silenced the people.

"I have terrible news," Kingsley began. "Harry will explain. Harry...?"

Harry nodded and stood up. He pointed his wand at the end of the long room and waved it. An enlarged image of the scroll appeared there, causing everybody in the room to let out shocked gasps at the information on it. Several people cried out, unable to believe it.

"As you can plainly see," Harry sighed, "two extremely powerful essences made out of Dark Magic have been sensed. (Why we only heard of them today, I don't know, but we'll be launching an inquiry on that.) These are the most dangerous things in history—even more dangerous than Voldemort."

"What's worse, apparently, the scroll received the warning of one of the essences from a _Trace, _meaning that one of the essences is a child under the age of seventeen."

"How could it be?" Hermione spoke up, her face very pale. "Any child with that kind of dark power won't be able to survive. He or she would destroy himself or herself before long."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Power like that can flatten a kid like a pancake."

Nobody laughed.

A woman at the back raised her hand. Harry nodded toward her stiffly, and she leaned forward to speak. "Tell us about the other, older essence. It looks far more powerful than even the child."

Harry answered, "Very well. The second essence looks even worse than the child's essence. It's ancient, that much we can see. Perhaps a thousand years old, even. It's still and unmoving, though, (Like it's slumbering...) and it doesn't look like it'll be a problem—_yet._

"The child troubles me more. We can't detect the Trace that belongs to the child, though, so we'll have to hunt it down. He or she could be anywhere in the world."

Harry's words hung in the air, and tension crackled in the room. Nobody spoke for a moment, and then, quite suddenly, whispers broke out.

"Kid looks indestructible..."

"Can't be human..."

"The child's going to destroy the world if we don't stop it..."

"And that ancient dark essence—what if _that_ wakes up...?"

Harry raised his voice to speak above the muttering. "I'm going a man-hunt for this child. We'll upturn every stone to look for it."

Finally, Kingsley spoke. "I think that's a fine plan, Harry. We will send lookouts at Hogwarts soon enough, and we'll be sure to tell our children to keep an eye out for budding Dark Wizards. The child must be sixteen, possibly a seventh year coming in next term. It can't be any younger—the pressure of the Dark Magic would kill it."

"Al is in Slytherin," Ron said loudly. "The Dark Wizard's definitely coming from that house if the kid attends Hogwarts, so I'd tell him to watch out, Harry."

Many people nodded. Someone chuckled and said, "Strange boy, that one. _Slytherin,_ I wonder..."

Harry scowled. "Yes, well, I'll tell him to look around. But I don't want to get him into even more trouble."

"We'll send reports to other nationalities," Kingsley decided. "They should look for this child at their schools, too."

Harry nodded in agreement. "I'm not going let this child (Or rather, a dark essence in the form of a kid) destroy the world! We'll find it and stop it."

Everyone clapped for him, determination shining in their eyes.

Harry was going to try his hardest to eliminate this new threat, but he had no idea who it was. If he did, he would have resigned from his post as Head Auror right away, because the second, _newer_ dark essence was the very last person—if you could call it human—that Harry wanted to fight.

* * *

A man in a blood-red cloak purposely strode his way through the dark, mysterious forest. He was here for a very special reason: to activate a dark object, an object that had been buried for a thousand years. Finally, he reached his destination, which was an empty clearing. Not deterred in the least, the man pulled out his wand and whispered, "_Forasde terra!" _

The earth in the middle of the clearing was ripped from its place. A ghastly black rod rose from out from the dirt. It radiated evil, and it even made the man in the blood-red cloak shiver slightly. He tried to console himself and thought, _it was created by the Paradox, so, naturally, it'd be pure Dark Magic._

But the man needed a vessel for the Scepter. He needed a human to channel the power of the Scepter and the part of the spirit of the first Paradox. He would need a scape-goat. Who could he use? A student at the school would do nicely.

But it was summer. What student was at his disposal? What student lived at the school? Only one did. The man quickly chose the vessel for this terrible Scepter. A certain girl would do well...

Then the man in the red cloak remembered the events of the previous term. One boy had foiled his plan, the plan of his society. He had damaged a part of the Paradox, which was unthinkable. What was more, this boy had survived the ordeal.

Albus Severus Potter. The red-cloaked man clenched his fist. That boy... _that boy_, though remarkably cunning and clever, was too much of a threat to keep alive. And what a shame it was, since the boy would have made a valuable addition to the ranks of the man's dark Regiment.

The man in the blood-red cloak was silent for a moment. It was too much to hope for. He wanted to release a part of the Paradox from the Scepter, but perhaps, just perhaps, he could kill _two_ birds with one stone...

He stepped toward the Scepter, his dark, flinty eyes shining with malice. His hand closed around the dark stone rod. The moment it made contact, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the sky.

_The Shadow Realm has begun to open, _thought the man with a malicious smile. _The Paradox will finally awaken._

It started to rain heavily—heavily enough to break through the leafy ceiling of the forest.

* * *

**Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. No copyright infringement intended. **


	2. The Ministry Party

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I do not own it. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

**-Chapter Two-**

**The Ministry Party**

Albus wasn't having a good summer. He had been moping around for the holidays, either fighting with James or staying in his room inventing potions. Albus' father, the famous Harry Potter, was not at home often. After the incident of last year, Harry had been at the Auror office all day, every day of the summer, busy with exciting matters.

After overhearing hushed conversations between the adults, the Potter children had realized that there was a powerful Dark Wizard—the word Harry had used had been 'essence,' not 'wizard'—out on the loose. Surprisingly, this 'wizard' was expected to be a child, most likely a sixteen or seventeen-year-old student, judging from the amount of power he or she had.

Albus and James had been at each other's throats for the whole summer. Their mother had found it extremely difficult to stop them from killing each other. Once, Ginny had sent the two brothers up to their rooms until they could learn to get along. Needless to say, the boys did not come out until she dragged them out herself.

The fights between the two brothers hadn't been so violent before, possibly because Albus had never stood up for himself until he was sorted into Slytherin. Now, Albus was determined not to let James step over him.

Last year, the two sons of Harry Potter had nearly torn the school apart with their private and not-so-private battles. Albus had led the Slytherins in a prank war against James and the rest of the school, and had ultimately emerged victorious by winning the House Cup for Slytherin.

Albus had won a hundred points for Slytherin because he and his best friends, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, had destroyed the Phantasm Orb, a deadly, very powerful object which could have brought the downfall of the whole world. Albus had confronted Caspar Hoffman—who had been trying to steal the Orb in order to release the Paradox—tricked him, and had asked the Orb to destroy itself and the Phantasm Realm. Hoffman had been killed in the struggle, and Albus had barely managed to survive.

Albus had somehow gotten caught up in trouble, and he wanted no part in it whatsoever. Hopefully, his role had finished. He had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had stuck his nose into situations that he should have kept out of. For his second year, Albus was determined to be normal.

Finally, the day of his birthday arrived. Coincidentally, he shared it with his father. Like Harry Potter, Albus was born on July 31st. (Unlike his father, however, Albus was born at 11:59 P.M. July 31st, which meant that he would have been born on August 1st if he had been born a minute later. )

On the dawn of his birthday, Albus wasn't feeling very optimistic. He woke up from a fresh nightmare, something that involved a black rod—a _scepter_, or something—and walked down the stairs.

"Happy birthday, Al!" squealed Lily, handing him a present across the breakfast table. He smiled weakly at her and took it.

"Thanks, Lily. Happy birthday, Dad," Albus said, turning to his father, who grinned back.

"Happy birthday, Al. Lots of happy birthdays today, aren't there?" his father commented, adjusting his glasses.

Albus adjusted his own and stared at his father, who was an identical image of Albus—only older and less freckled. "Thanks, Dad," Albus said, a bit blandly.

"I made a Snitch cake for the two Seekers! Oh—happy birthday!" Albus' mother called from the kitchen.

"I helped!" Lily added.

Albus winced. Lily certainly hadn't inherited their mother and grandmother's talent in cooking. "Uh, that's great, Lily," Albus muttered. "Thanks, Mum! I can't wait to taste it."

At that moment, James decided to come stomping down the stairs. "Happy birthday, Dad!" James called, neglecting to mention his little brother.

"Say happy birthday to Al!" Ginny ordered from the kitchen, finally poking her head out and giving James a glare.

"No."

"I don't mind, Mum," Albus sighed.

"Say happy birthday to Al," Albus' father said sternly.

"Happy birthday," James grumbled.

Like Albus, James greatly admired their father. The similarities between the brothers ended there. While James was popular, handsome, and strong, Albus was quiet, nerdy, and scrawny. They were complete opposites, and whatever brotherly feelings they'd had for each other had disappeared when Albus had been sorted into Slytherin the previous year.

Now, the two brothers were arch-rivals, and they were not only competing for the House and Quidditch Cups, (they both played as Seekers for their respective teams) but also for their father's approval. Even worse, they both held affections for the same girl: Elina Lyon.

Albus' heart jumped whenever he thought about the incredibly sweet and pretty Gryffindor girl. She, unlike the rest of the Gryffindors, (who all acted as if their heads were inflated) accepted the Slytherins and did not judge people on their houses. When Albus had been shunned by the rest of the school, Elina had been kind to him, and he would never forget that. Unfortunately, James had liked her as well, and now both boys were (very obviously) fighting for her.

"You know, we're going to have to go to a party later today," Ginny announced, effectively spoiling the mood even more.

"What?" Albus spluttered, choking on his toast.

"Sorry, Al. It's supposed to take place at the Ministry of Magic. They have it to honor my birthday. I told them not to bother, but they didn't listen," Harry explained apologetically while thumping his son on the back.

"Do I have to go?" Albus wailed once he had recovered.

"I know you don't like parties, Al," Ginny said, "but we have to make a good impression. Lots of people want to meet you. James isn't complaining about going, see?"

Albus glowered at his mother and muttered something about James loving to suck up attention. He added a few more rather descriptive swear words for effect.

"Albus Severus Potter! Don't make me yell at you on your birthday!" snapped Ginny. She was clearly getting annoyed at all the fighting in her household—James and Albus never left each other alone.

"It's not until evening," Harry assured his son.

Ginny plastered a grin on her face and said, "I've already picked out dress robes for all three of you!"

All three of her children groaned.

After lunch, they sang two hasty choruses of 'Happy Birthday' and gulped down the snitch cake. Once both Albus and his father were done unwrapping their presents, the three Potter children assembled in their parlor, all in very bad moods. Albus was wearing bottle-green wizard robes, and he did not think that they complimented him. He looked like an overgrown bat. (If bats could be green.) James, however, looked far more dashing in his robes of navy blue.

Albus scowled. James was considered a heartthrob at Hogwarts, and Albus once more felt a pang of jealousy. Albus wasn't exactly handsome with his scrawny frame, thin face, and large glasses. (James didn't wear glasses—Albus was the only one of Harry's children to have inherited his father's poor vision.)

The family of five lived in Godric's Hollow in an airy and comfortable cottage. It was too large to really be a cottage, but it came with the homey feeling of one. They got along well with muggles, but Albus had always been bullied and made fun of by the muggle children—and James had often joined in the teasing. Even the muggles seemed to sense that Albus was different from everyone else; no muggle really liked him—he was the greasy, strange boy, the oddity of that 'nice but mysterious Potter family.'

Albus couldn't exactly blame them. As a young child, he had found it an interesting pastime to control little animals or children and cause them to hurt themselves. He had made a bird jump into a rushing river, caused a cat to fall off a roof and break its leg, and driven the town bully completely insane by simply staring into his eyes. When he had been six years old, he had politely asked a serpent to bite James' hand off. Sadly, the snake had not succeeded.

The events hadn't been traced back to Albus, but the muggles simply hated him because he was different. Then again, _everyone_ hated him because he was different.

Among the wizards, the Potters were much, _much _better known, thanks to both Harry and Ginny's celebrity status. Ever since Albus had returned from Hogwarts, the _Daily Prophet _had been determined to write an article about how he was an utter disappointment to the heroic Harry Potter for being Sorted into Slytherin. (These articles had failed to mention how Albus had stopped a Dark Wizard in his first year at Hogwarts and had practically saved the world by destroying the Phantasm Orb. Of course, the whole ordeal had been kept secret.) Fortunately, Ginny had been able to stop such stories from being printed because of her position as the editor of the Quidditch column, and the _Prophet_ remained Albus-free.

Albus was not popular at Hogwarts, unlike James. In fact, he was completely hated. Many people considered him a traitor, and he had always been shy and stuttering. The only friends he had were Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius had experienced plenty of adventures the previous year. They were inseparable, even if Rose was a Gryffindor and the two boys were Slytherins. Albus felt very strongly for both of them, and he had been very torn up when he thought that they had been killed by the Guardian Spirits at the end of his first year.

Last year, Albus had found out that he was a very gifted wizard with magical skill that could be compared to that of Voldemort's and Dumbledore's. Albus' father had assured him that he wasn't too much different than any other wizard, and that talented wizards nowadays weren't so rare. He even considered his best friend Scorpius a magical prodigy as well. Albus was glad to know that he wasn't alone, in any case.

But that didn't make the feeling of uneasiness disappear. Albus still felt that he was different, somehow more powerful than even the most powerful of wizards.

His underage magic incidents weren't like those little accidents that happened to most underage wizards—such as jumping exceptionally high or regrown hair. Whenever Albus got angry or scared, he would end up blowing up whole areas, and his underage magic tantrums were always accompanied by an odd, bright green glow.

Had Voldemort, Dumbledore, and Scorpius exploded entire rooms by glowing bright green when they had been young? Albus doubted it.

Albus had used this powerful inner magic several times during his first year to purposely attack James and Eric Derlwin, another Gryffindor rival. He had also used his inner magic to save his, Rose, and Scorpius' lives on Halloween by putting up a bright green shield that had seemed to come from inside him.

Albus wondered if Scorpius or any other gifted wizard had been able to do that. Did wizards usually use their inner magic without a wand after they had been accepted at Hogwarts? Were they usually as volatile and explosive as Albus was? Surely, wandless magic was common amongst older wizards, but it was different with Albus. He didn't have to think of an incantation—he simply decided to do it, and it would come out of him. And it wasn't normal magic—it was always accompanied by that bright green glow.

"You go first," Ginny offered, holding out a pot of Floo powder. Albus grimaced and took a handful. He hated traveling by Floo powder—it usually ended badly for him. He always ended up exploding something, knocking something over, or hurting somebody.

Albus threw the powder into the fire, yelled, "The Ministry of Magic!" and stepped into the green flames. After a minute of trying to stop himself from hurling his lunch, Albus was thrown out onto hard marble floor. He was immediately smothered by a mane of bushy orange hair.

"Ooh! Happy birthday, Al! I got you a present! You're going to love it!" Albus' cousin and best friend, Rose, squealed.

"Happy birthday! Better get out of the way, Al. I think your brother will be coming through the fireplace next," suggested Albus' aunt, Hermione.

"Happy birthday," Uncle Ron said. Hugo, Rose's little brother, echoed his father.

As Aunt Hermione had predicted, James stepped out of the fire next. Albus' infinitely more handsome brother stood up, dusted off his robes, gave Albus a very nasty look, and ran into his aunt and uncle's arms. They looked happier to see James than they did to see Albus, which really wasn't that surprising.

Albus' family had originally ignored him after he had been sorted into Slytherin, and even after he had saved the school from Hoffman and the Phantasm Orb, they were still unsure how to act around him. Like Albus' father had said last year, some old wounds didn't heal, and the Weasley family clearly still had some injuries from the time of the Second Wizarding War, when the Slytherins had been completely cruel, cowardly, and traitorous.

Albus wanted to prove that fact wrong. He was going to show the world that Slytherins had changed, and that their past did not determine their future.

A few seconds later, Ginny, Harry, and Lily shot out of the fireplace and hurried over to greet Ron, Hermione, Rose, and Hugo.

"The party's just started," Uncle Ron informed the Potters. "I didn't really want to come, but Hermione dragged us all."

Harry nodded in agreement, playfully nudging his own wife's shoulder.

Albus did not join in the festivities. The group of nine wandered around the atrium of the Ministry of Magic, where the party was taking place. Red and gold streamers (the colors of Gryffindor) were plastered all over the walls, and several life-sized and larger-than-life portraits of Harry Potter smiled down at Albus.

Albus thought it was all rather overwhelming. He stayed in Rose's shadow while she chattered away about her summer, not wanting to attract attention to himself. James, on the other hand, was boasting about his many pranks and achievements. A group of reporters had gathered around him and were complimenting him and asking him questions.

Albus wondered if he should add a few things to James' self assessment of himself: Arrogant, bullying, rude, and annoying. Albus wondered how his own achievements of saving the world would look next to James' achievements of pranking the Slytherins to tears.

Albus smirked.

Unfortunately, Rose chose that moment to loudly say, "Al did some cool stuff, too!"

Albus choked on his breath and made a run for it, but several reporters lunged forward and grabbed him.

"So, _this_ is the Slytherin Potter!"

"Tell us, what's it like to be the disappointment of your family?"

"What does your father think?"

"Do you or do you not consider yourself to be the 'bad egg' or 'black sheep' of your family?"

Albus officially decided that it was one of his worst birthdays.

"I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know!" Albus answered quickly, resisting the urge to blast them away with his powerful inner magic. He certainly felt angry enough—give him another minute and he would start glowing bright green.

"That's not what I meant!" Rose mumbled, giving Albus an apologetic look. "Al was a hero last year—"

"HEY!" James roared, calling the reporters back to him. "Did you know that Al practices Dark Magic? Well, I think he does—he's always up in his room."

The attention was quickly brought back to James. Albus, as odd as it sounded, was a bit grateful. He knew that tomorrow morning someone would try to print some rubbish story about him becoming the next Dark Lord, but at least he had escaped more questioning.

James, as usual, was being an attention seeking git. Albus had not practiced Dark Magic, (admittedly, Albus wouldn't have refused to sample some dark spells) but he had indeed been stuck up in his room for the majority of the summer. He had been inventing potions and spells and immersing himself into the very secrets and laws of magic. Albus was rather annoyed at the restriction for underage magic, which stopped him from using his wand in his experiments.

"Sorry, I can't answer your questions right now," Harry mumbled to a daunting group of reporters. "I need to show my children to a few of my colleagues."

Albus was sure that this was just an excuse to get away, and he knew that the dislike of constant attention was another trait that both he and his father shared.

"Come on, Al, James, Lily," Harry called, dragging them away from the reporters. James did not look happy to leave, but both Lily and Albus sighed with relief.

They walked around the atrium for the next hour, occasionally stopping to chat with random wizards that their father knew. Albus and James exchanged insults during this time and, more than once, attempted to attack each other. Lily, as always, looked very torn between them. She worshipped the ground that James walked on, (everyone apparently did) but she was very loyal towards Albus.

Out of nowhere, several reporters cornered Harry, Albus, James, and Lily. Albus dove under the nearest refreshment table, but the rest of them weren't quick enough and were quickly covered from view by the reporters. Sighing with relief, Albus crawled back out, knocking his head on the underside of the table. Rubbing it and grumbling, he stood up to come to face to face with a very pretty girl that often occupied his thoughts.

"Hi, Al!" Elina said brightly.

Albus gaped silently, but finally managed to find his voice. "Uh..." He wasn't completely sure what he was saying—he was too busy staring at her eyes, which were a dazzling shade of blue-violet. He also noticed that she was wearing a dress—something he had never seen her in before.

"I've missed you!" Elina squealed, grasping his wrist. "Invented any new potions lately?" she added playfully.

Albus turned red from the tip of his toes to the top of his head. "Uh—y-yeah." He berated himself for not saying something impressive or witty, like James was always able to do.

Elina was the only girl who didn't curl her lip at him whenever he walked past, and she had never once been mean to him or shunned him for being a Slytherin. Elina was the kind of person who was nice to everybody, and this made her extremely well-known and well-liked among the students of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, her popularity had quickly caused her to catch the attention of James and the rest of the supposedly handsome pranksters, even though she was a year younger.

Albus knew there was absolutely no chance that she would return his feelings, (he fit the very definition of _infamous_) but she seemed to consider him a good friend nevertheless.

"How was your summer?" Albus stammered out, finally getting in control of his voice.

Elina shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable. "It was all right..."

Albus once again wondered whether she lived at Hogwarts. He had been given the impression last year that she and the staff of the school shared a special bond.

He decided to change the subject, not wanting her to feel awkward. "The weather's been really bad, hasn't it? It's summertime and it's raining like mad. I mean, it's even stranger because it was really hot for the last few weeks." Albus mentally slapped himself—of all the things to talk about, he chose the _weather?_

Elina nodded, eager to talk about something else. "It started just today, actually. I bet it'll stop soon."

Their pitiful conversation was cut short by James, who had come strolling toward the two of them, his head held arrogantly in the air. Albus felt a rush of jealousy toward his handsomer, stronger, and more popular brother.

"Elina? What are you doing with _him?"_ snarled James, his mood immediately souring when he saw Albus.

Elina used her usual argument to defend Albus. "He's your brother, James," she said sternly, "so be nice to him."

James chose to ignore her statement. "Well, I'm glad to see you. You drew my eye from all the way across the atrium," James said, winking at Elina.

Albus seethed. James always knew what to say to girls, while Albus was always hopeless. (Not that he'd ever had the chance to speak to girls that weren't family—most of the female population usually avoided him. He was a Potter, but he really wasn't considered one anymore because he was a Slytherin.)

He was suddenly aware that a few other couples, some of them teenagers, were already dancing and slow music was magically vibrating through the atrium.

_Please, _Albus begged silently. _Please, let James not ask Elina to dance..._

"So, coming back to the original point, would you like to dance with me?" James asked, holding out his hand.

_Please, say no... Say no... Say no!_

"Um... okay," Elina said nervously. Then she giggled and blushed. She only had time to spare Albus an apologetic glance before joining her hand with James' and walking out onto the dance floor.

Albus deflated. He wanted to hit something—preferably James. Instead, Albus kicked the wall, but achieved nothing but a sore toe.

"Oh, there you are, Al," said Albus' father, coming to rescue his son from his misery. Albus suspected from the half-amused, half-sympathetic look on Harry's face that he had seen everything. "I need to show you a few people. Don't worry, they're not reporters."

Albus followed his father, still feeling sorry for himself. A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a group of ministry officials. "This is my youngest son, Albus," Harry said, gesturing unnecessarily at Albus, who gave a half-hearted wave.

He lifted his head to see a tall, impressive-looking black man with an earring. Next to him stood another man, this one with neatly combed brown hair and sharp, cold hazel eyes. Albus spotted another woman standing behind them with a beautiful—but intelligent—face.

These three were clearly politicians. Albus suddenly straightened his back and gave them a smile. He wanted to make a good first impression, though he already knew that they wouldn't like him much because he was a Slytherin.

"This is Kingsley Shacklebolt," said Harry, pointing the the black man, who grinned widely at Albus.

Albus let out a small squeak and quickly turned it into a cough, not wanting to appear childish. This was the Minister of Magic himself! Albus smirked to himself, imagining the look on Scorpius' face when Albus would tell him about this, since Scorpius wanted to be the Minister of Magic one day. Albus wouldn't say no to the job, either—he had always wanted to have power and respect.

"Pleased to meet you, Albus. Happy birthday to both of you," said Kingsley, his voice deep and reassuring. Albus decided that he liked his man.

"And this is Drake Edgeworth," Harry continued, gesturing toward the man with the neat hair and the scholarly look. "He's the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

Albus hurried forward to shake his hand, nearly tripping his eagerness.

"Happy birthday. Good to see you," Edgeworth said icily, giving Albus a searching, almost suspicious look.

"And, finally, this is Reyna Lyserian. She's the Head of the International Magical Cooperation Department," Harry finished, gesturing to the stunning dark-haired woman.

Lyserian gave him a sparkling, red-lipped smile and shook his hand, not letting a hair out of place. Albus met Lyserian's golden eyes and felt his body sear with pain, though he wasn't sure why.

"Kingsley is a good friend of mine," Harry said, not noticing Albus flinch. "He's an excellent Minister."

Albus did not miss the cold look Harry gave to Lyserian and Edgeworth, as if daring them to say differently.

While father and son walked away from the three officials, Albus was practically buzzing with excitement, forgetting his momentary pain when he had looked into Lyserian's eyes. Harry, however, looked deeply irritated and worried.

"Kingsley is probably the best Minister of Magic so far," Harry said. "But he's retiring next year, and it's going to be Edgeworth and Lyserian that take over."

"Is that bad?" Albus asked, already knowing the answer from the look on his father's face.

"I don't like them," said Harry. "I just have a feeling that they're not right for the wizarding world." On a second thought, he added, "I hate politics."

Albus laughed, his mood lightened considerably. The two of them wandered back into the crowd, where Harry was forced to make his long speech while Albus was cornered by bloodthirsty reporters.

Albus sighed. It was definitely_ not_ his favorite birthday.


	3. The Day & Night Alleys

**-Chapter Three-**

**The Day and Night Alleys**

Once Albus and James received their Hogwarts letters, Lily turned from agreeable to extremely whiny. Her usual argument was that she wasn't able to go to Hogwarts this year, either, even though she was turning eleven in late September anyways. Lily blamed their parents for making her miss the cutoff.

By the time their visit to Diagon Alley rolled around, Albus was very glad to leave the house. He was missing Scorpius, and he hoped to see his Slytherin friend there.

After spinning for a while, Albus shot out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, knocking one chair to the ground and breaking another. To his relief, Hannah, Neville Longbottom's wife and the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, leaned over and helped him up.

"Oh, sorry, Al! I should have expected that you'd knock something over—I'll move them next time," Hannah said, smiling at him.

Albus turned pink, once again wishing that he wasn't such a freak.

He looked around the pub, marveling on how clean it was. Several small children wandered around without worry, and there weren't any shady characters infesting the place. All the countertops and tables sparkled, and Albus could see his reflection in the floor. Hannah had made it clear when she took over the pub that anyone who wanted to come inside had to be on their best behavior. She had quickly turned it from a dim, gloomy dwelling into a cheerful, five-star hotel that was good for families.

A second later, the rest of the Potter family followed Albus through the fireplace, stepping calmly out of it—which Albus was never able to do. After quickly stopping to chat with Neville and Hannah, the Potter family walked through the back door of the pub, tapped the bricks, and stepped out on to Diagon Alley.

Albus wasn't particularly keen on the place after coming all the time to visit Uncle George, Aunt Angelina, Roxanne and Fred at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. They continued through the narrow street, though they often had to stop so that Harry could politely tell people that he could not sign their handkerchiefs, their skin, or their handbags. It was also raining, which didn't help Albus' mood.

They halted outside Quality Quidditch Supplies to ogle the newest broomstick—the Lightningbolt II. James himself had the first Lightningbolt, but he still threw a tantrum for the new one. Albus, however, was perfectly fine with his father's old Firebolt, and had managed to beat James at the Slytherin versus Gryffindor match last year while riding it.

They also stopped in front of a rather large stage, where some sort of play was going on. Albus spotted a snobbish-looking man speaking in unrecognizable, old English and holding his hand out to an equally snobbish-looking woman in a frilly dress.

"Oh, look!" Lily squealed. "It's Hershel Heartley! He's a famous actor—oh—he's so handsome!"

Both James and Albus curled their lips and led Lily away from the crowd that was watching the show, quite frantic to get away from the prospect of watching a soppy love story with their little sister.

After shopping for the new spellbooks and supplies on their school lists, the family finally arrived at WWW.

It was clear from the moment they stopped outside the large store that there would be no breathing space. Albus, relieved to blend into the crowd, slipped inside the shop, narrowly avoided a group of giggling girls who gave him nasty looks but flirted with James, ducked under a singing and dancing dinosaur that was wreaking terror in left side of the shop, dodged a group of rowdy boys who flung poisonous sweets at him using magical catapults, and finally reached the room at the back of the shop.

It was Albus' favorite room, and it was where all defensive objects were kept. Albus was always the only child who came into the room—and it had puzzled most people that he would rather come in here instead of staying in the louder and more exciting main part of the store.

Albus was quickly joined by his father, who put a hand on his son's shoulder. "You've always liked this room, haven't you?" Harry asked.

Albus nodded mutely, picking up a Decoy Detonator.

"So have I," Harry said. "I can get you something if you want, Al. It might come in use at Hogwarts."

Albus grinned widely, but then it slid off his face. "Thanks, but I really hope that nothing strange happens at Hogwarts this year..."

Harry smiled weakly. "You should still get something," he suggested, picking up a package of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. "You don't know what might happen. In fact, Triton and I had a little discussion after the, uh, _problem_ last year. There's going to be Dueling Classes added to Hogwarts—hopefully this will prepare the students for problems outside of Hogwarts."

Albus was a bit surprised, but quite pleased. "S-So, this means that Triton—"

"_Headmaster_ Triton," Harry corrected.

"Whatever. So, Headmaster Triton won't be as stupid as he was last year—"

"Gale made a mistake," Harry said, calling Triton by his first name. "He was a bit unsure if he could trust you or not, that's all—"

"Y-You mean that he didn't trust me because I was a Slytherin!" Albus snarled.

"I'm sure it had nothing to do with that," Harry assured his son, though Albus was not fooled.

They left the defense room and pushed their way through the crowd, though there really was no need. Everyone moved aside in awe when they saw Harry Potter, though they gave Albus undisguised looks of dislike. Albus was hated at Hogwarts, and most of the shoppers were teenagers who went to the magical school.

Harry, however, gave Albus a sympathetic look and walked over to the counter, where Roxanne, Albus' cousin, sat, paging through a Quidditch magazine. Her hair was braided with beads the colors of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team.

"Hello, Uncle Harry," Roxanne said, removing her gum and chucking it into the nearest rubbish bin, which apparently had an Undetectable Extension Charm placed on it. "Oh... hi, Al," she continued, her voice noticeably colder.

Albus sighed and gave her a half-hearted greeting in return. Roxanne and Fred, the two trouble-making twins, were now both entering their fifth year at Hogwarts. They were much closer with James and thought Albus was a 'stick in the mud', though extremely fun to prank. Roxanne was better to Albus than Fred was, however, because she only participated in pranks if she had finished paging through the latest witch fashions magazine.

"Good to see you, Roxanne," Harry replied. "Have you seen your dad?"

"Yeah," Roxanne said, popping a fresh stick of gum into her mouth. "He's showing James, Louis, and Fred some of his new items. He said that they can use them on Albus. They can't ever prank him the same way—he catches on to their jokes quickly." She blew a bubble, which swelled to impossible proportions before it detached itself and hovered in the air like a balloon.

Albus scowled. Everything she said was true, of course. He was extremely paranoid now, and he was too clever to let his mischievous cousins get away with pranking him constantly.

"Uh—all right, then, Roxanne," Harry said, looking as if he hadn't been listening to what she had been saying. "Al, why don't you join your cousins and your brother?"

Albus gave his father a very dirty look. "Like_ they'll_ let me go near them!" he sneered.

"I need to discuss something important with the adults—go, please," Harry begged.

Albus raised an eyebrow. That conversation must be important if his father was forcing him to go to James. Harry usually expected them to blow each other up whenever they were standing within ten feet of each other. Albus nodded, watching all the adults walk up to his aunt and uncle's apartment, which was above the shop.

This was clearly something to do with Auror or Ministry business if they couldn't talk about it in front of their children. Immensely curious, Albus searched the shelves for the famous Extendable Ears, determined to hear what his parents were discussing upstairs.

Just as he found a pair, however, he was pushed rudely to the ground.

"What are you doing, _loser?"_ James jeered, snatching the Extendable Ears from Albus and throwing them over his shoulder.

Albus stood up furiously, ready to strangle James—something that he had tried to do quite a few times that summer.

"I don't think you should even shop here," James snickered. "Uncle George told me that he has a strict no-Slytherin policy. Slytherins usually misuse this stuff for their own sinister ends, like I bet you're doing now!"

Albus rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot, James. What I am I going to do with Extendable Ears—_listen_ somebody to death?"

"I bet you're capable of it, _Snivelly_," Louis said, while Fred snorted.

Albus growled at his two least favorite cousins, Louis and Fred, who were almost as bad as James himself. The three of them were all considered the smart—yet never rule-abiding—and handsome pranksters.

"Whatever. If you'd please move, I want to get my Extendable Ears, thanks," Albus told them coldly.

Fred held it out of his reach. "I don't want to give _you_ any of these products, _Slytherin!_ You'll get them all _slimy..."_

Albus stalked out of the store, tired of all the bullying. He didn't want to deal with James, Fred, and Louis. Even before Albus had been sorted into Slytherin, they had teased him for being a 'greasy nerd' who never played with them when they were children, and it had gotten worse since then.

He kept walking through Diagon Alley, not caring that his parents would be worried into hysterics when they found out that he was gone. He didn't look up, not wanting to see the disgusted looks of the people around him.

Why did being a Slytherin make them hate him so much? Slytherin had been evil years and years ago, but it _still_ carried a dark reputation. They didn't deserve to be treated like this. Albus actually suspected that Slytherins were denied jobs at the Ministry, because that was how unfair things were in the wizarding world now.

Albus was going to change that. He had already taken a step forward in his quest to bring glory to Slytherin last year by defeating a Dark Wizard and winning the House Cup for Slytherin, but this only made the other houses bitter and determined to torture Slytherin even more. In addition to this, the other Houses didn't even know why Albus had won all those points. Everything that had taken place in the Phantasm Realm had been kept a secret.

Albus finally halted when the crowd had thinned. It was raining—it had been pouring ever since the day of Albus' birthday—and Albus couldn't have been more miserable. He looked ahead, seeing Diagon Alley end at a brick wall. With a look a little past the wall, Albus could see a very narrow street snaking out of view. It was the entrance to Knockturn Alley, which specialized in the Dark Arts.

Albus struggled with himself, knowing that he would be grounded for the rest of his life if his parents caught him. But the draw of the place was too strong. Albus wanted to know what kinds of Dark Magic were there—he wanted to see it for himself. He wanted to learn about it, maybe even_ try_ it. With great eagerness, Albus stumbled into the small street that took him to Knockturn Alley.

The first thing he saw when he arrived was that it was nearly empty. Albus had expected this—after all, being here was pretty much a give away in this generation. Cautiously, Albus went on, glancing at the window displays. They were drastically different from those of Diagon Alley. Leering masks hung from one shop, and shrunken heads were being sold at another. Albus thought he saw a large, hairy leg poke out from a door of another store.

For some odd reason, Albus did not feel as scared as he should have been. The displays rather intrigued him, and he even stopped to stare at a glass eye, wondering what powers it had. After he had finished looking at the eye, he glanced upward to read the sign of the store he was next to. The sign read: _Borgin and Burkes. _

Abandoning whatever fear he had, Albus stepped inside the shop. The counter was unattended, and Albus couldn't see an employee anywhere. He was a bit relieved—he didn't fancy explaining what the son of the noble Harry Potter was doing in a shop full of Dark Artifacts.

After perusing a bloodstained pack of cards, he read the sign underneath an innocent-looking candle: _Warning: Will emit fatal fumes when lit. _Albus stepped as far away as he could from the candle and bumped into what looked like a large cabinet.

At that moment, a man with greasy hair entered the shop from the back room, muttering about sale prices. Albus, horrified, opened the cabinet and threw himself inside, not wanting Borgin or Burkes or whoever it was to question him.

A second later, the door opened, and a customer walked in. Albus peered through the gap in the cabinet, curious to see who it was. Nothing could have prepared him for the shock—it was a man with chin-length pale blond hair and icy grey eyes. In other words, it looked like an older version of Albus' best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. (Admittedly, Scorpius' hair was much shorter.)

Albus assumed that the man who had just entered was Draco Malfoy—the man that Uncle Ron insulted at every family meeting. Albus' jumped again when smaller figure followed the man through the door. This time, it was Scorpius himself, looking as if he was in a very bad mood.

Albus was slightly surprised. The Malfoys had abandoned the ways of Dark Magic long ago, but they still seemed to be coming to Knockturn Alley, which was the most suspicious place to be in this generation.

"Father, can we go now?" Scorpius whined.

"Quiet, Scorpius," Mr. Malfoy snapped. "I have a short business to attend to."

"Whatever. I want something if you're going to drag me here," Scorpius said coldly, beginning to wander around.

Albus mentally called to his friend, hoping that Scorpius would discover him inside the cabinet.

Mr. Malfoy ignored his son and turned to greasy-haired man. "Mr. Burke, what a pleasure to see you."

"A pleasure to see you, too, Mr. Malfoy," said Burke, nearly tripping over himself in his eagerness to please his customer.

"Yes... well, I wish to purchase an item," explained Mr. Malfoy, sparing Burke a cold glance. "Do you carry Dark Protectors here?"

"Uh—what—Dark Protectors? They have the ability to protect at any cost, though they use Dark Magic—"

"I am very well aware of what they do, Burke," snarled Mr. Malfoy, his lip curling. "The question is: do you have them? I don't want to stay too long in this damned alley, so hurry up!"

Albus turned his attention to Scorpius as Burke, grumbling, went to check his stores.

"Father, can I have this glass eye?" asked Scorpius.

"No. You're not allowed to have anything from here," Mr. Malfoy said.

"Why not?" asked Scorpius, looking bad-tempered.

"We're not going to get too many Dark Artifacts—I've already told you," Mr. Malfoy answered calmly.

Still looking irritated, Scorpius strolled around and perused the shelf of Dark Magic books.

"Scorpius!" Albus hissed.

Scorpius jumped a foot in the air and looked around frantically.

"It's me—Albus!" he hissed again. "In the cabinet!"

Scorpius caught on quickly. After making sure that neither his father nor Burke was watching, Scorpius opened the cabinet door and dragged Albus behind the bookshelf.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius spluttered.

"Good to see you, too," Albus said, smirking.

"I'm not laughing," Scorpius snapped. "You're not supposed to be here! Do your parents know?"

Albus gulped. "James and my cousins were being gits, so I left WWW. You don't have to be all worried—"

"If someone saw you, I bet that they would try to kidnap you! Father's been looking for the Dark Protectors for a while now, and he keeps taking me to Knockturn Alley. I've heard your name a few times in this alley—I don't know why. I think it's because you're Harry Potter's son, or something," Scorpius whispered.

Albus choked on his breath. "_What?_ People were talking about me and my dad?"

"Yeah, I think they were," Scorpius said. "It's odd, and it unsettles me. You've got to get out of here. I'll distract Father, and you make a run for it."

Albus gulped again. "All right," he agreed.

"Who are you talking to back there, Scorpius?" Mr. Malfoy asked from the front of the shop.

He walked over and pushed aside the bookshelf, revealing the two boys. They froze, looking like deer caught in the wandlight.

"Uh—" Albus gurgled, unable to react.

"Father, I can explain—" Scorpius began.

"Be quiet," Draco Malfoy hissed, his tone deadly. "I did not know that you were friends with the Potter boy."

Scorpius looked fearful at first, but then he turned mutinous. "I can be friends with whoever I want. He's a Slytherin—"

"He's nothing but trouble!" Mr. Malfoy snapped. "I suppose you're friends with the Weasley girl as well?"

Scorpius turned very pink. Albus would have teased him, but he did not think that this was the right time.

Mr. Malfoy seemed to understand, anyways. "Get up, you two," he snarled. "I don't have time to deal with _this_. I hope you're proud of yourself, Scorpius."

"What are you so busy with, anyways?" Scorpius demanded. "You're going on looking for those Dark Protectors as if you're obsessed or something—"

"Silence!" Mr. Malfoy warned. "Scorpius, you're not old enough. We need to get the Potter boy back to Diagon Alley as quickly as possible. He's not safe here—"

"What?" Albus asked. Had Mr. Malfoy noticed, too? Or did he know more than either Scorpius or Albus did?

"We're leaving," Mr. Malfoy said, ignoring Albus' question. "Come, Potter."

"What about Burke?" Scorpius asked.

"Forget the old fool," Mr. Malfoy hissed. "He doesn't have the Protectors, anyways."

Evening fell, though the rain did not stop. The three of them, two Malfoys and a Potter, walked past Knockturn Alley, which was completely deserted. Mr. Malfoy was thoughtful enough to conjure up an umbrella, though it didn't really help—Albus was already soaked through.

Finally, they reached Diagon Alley. Albus stepped away from the Malfoys, wanting to slip back into WWW unnoticed, but at that moment, a good part of his family came running into the alley from a nearby shop.

"Al! You're okay!" Albus' mother cried, throwing her arms around him. "We were asking the owners of all the shops if they had seen you!"

Albus saw Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione standing nearby with very white faces—apparently, they had just arrived at Diagon Alley. Albus spotted Rose and Hugo beside their parents, both of whom looked immensely relieved that he was all right.

"You!" Uncle Ron snarled, pointing at Mr. Malfoy accusingly. "What did you do to him?"

Mr. Malfoy curled his lip. "I assure you, I did nothing." He turned to Albus' father. "My son found yours in Knockturn Alley in Borgin and Burkes."

Albus' heart stopped—had Mr. Malfoy just revealed that in front of his parents? Everyone seemed to freeze in place, and Ginny let go of Albus in shock.

"Is this true?" Harry asked, looking horrified.

Albus simply stayed silent, his cheeks coloring rapidly. He was definitely grounded for the rest of the summer—probably for the rest of his life, too. Albus hung his head in shame, unable to meet the look of disappoint in his father's eyes. Albus had been in a shop that carried Dark Artifacts, in an alley that specialized in the Dark Arts. He was the son of the heroic and noble _Harry Potter_, and he had outright disobeyed his father.

"No!" Rose shrieked, looking at Albus. "He wouldn't—he's not _dark_ like that!"

"Yes, he is. He's in Slytherin, and all Slytherins practice Dark Magic," James said smugly, smirking over at Albus.

Albus felt like he had been slapped in the face. James was right. Albus had been drawn to Knockturn Alley, and the objects there had fascinated him. _What_ was wrong with him? _Why_ did he feel that evil power within him all the time? _How_ did he manage to get himself into these situations?

"I'm sorry..." Albus blinked quickly, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"'Sorry' won't cut it," Harry said coldly.

Albus tentatively met his father's bright green eyes and saw only disgust there. Albus looked at everyone else. They all had that same expression of disappointment on their face. Even Rose and Lily weren't able to look at him.

Mr. Malfoy looked a bit amused, while Scorpius looked a bit guilty. "Well, now that we're done, Scorpius and I must get going," he said.

"Bye!" Rose squeaked to Scorpius, who went pink again.

Uncle Ron looked murderous and sent a death glare toward Scorpius, who sneered back and followed his father away.

Once Mr. Malfoy and Scorpius were gone, Ginny exploded with fury. "WHAT A _DISGRACE_! YOUR FATHER IS HARRY POTTER—HE DOES HIS BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT DARK WIZARDS GET INTO PRISON, AND YOU BETRAY HIM BY GOING TO KNOCKTURN ALLEY WHEN WE FORBADE YOU FROM DOING SO!" Albus' mother screamed, catching the attention of several curious reporters.

"Not here, Ginny," Albus' father said quickly, sending another disgusted look toward his son.

Quietly, Albus followed his seething parents and equally seething aunt and uncle to the Leaky Cauldron. Rose and Lily didn't look at him very much, and whenever they did, he only saw fear in their eyes. Hugo looked merely confused, and James was smirking and whispering, "Who's Dad's favorite? _Not_ you..."

Albus didn't even bother to defend himself. He simply wished that he could sink into the ground and disappear from existence.

"What happened?" Hannah Longbottom asked nervously as the unhappy family stalked to the fireplace.

"We'll tell you later," Aunt Hermione said quickly.

"Get in," Ginny snarled at Albus, who gulped and grabbed a fistful of Floo powder. A few seconds later, he shot out of the fireplace in his home, breaking his mother's favorite flowerpot and knocking his father's favorite coffee table on its side.

His mother stepped out of the fireplace a minute later, glaring at him. "Go to your room." She glanced at the coffee table lying on its side to the broken flowerpot and sighed. Albus obeyed immediately before she could change her mind and start yelling at him right there and then.

He stopped at the top of the stairs, listening as his father, uncle, and aunt came out of the fireplace.

"We sent Rose and Hugo back to our house," Aunt Hermione informed her brother and sister-in-law.

"I don't know where you went wrong with Al," Uncle Ron said to Ginny and Harry.

"_Ronald_!" Aunt Hermione scolded.

"Forget it, Hermione. Al will be in big trouble for this," Albus' father sighed.

"You shouldn't have told him that he could be in Slytherin—now he's gone all _evil_—" Uncle Ron began.

"Both of you, let us deal with him," Albus' mother snapped. "Go back—I'm sure Rose and Hugo want you."

Albus scurried to his room just as his aunt and uncle turned to leave. A few minutes later, his mother stomped up the stairs, threw his door open, and started to yell. He had lost his hearing after three hours of her screaming at him. Fortunately, it seemed that his mother had lost her voice, because she quieted and said, "Your father is coming up next. You're grounded until September. I'm taking whatever Potions stuff you do in here away!"

"What?" Albus squeaked. "But, that's not Dark Magic—that's just—"

"I don't care!" Ginny snapped. "You need to be punished. Until September 1st, you'll stay in here reflecting on what you've done."

Albus fell silent, knowing that he couldn't win the argument.

After Albus' mother had left, Harry entered the room, a grave expression on his face.

"Dad...?" Albus asked hopefully.

"I'm disappointed. You've betrayed my trust—I hope you know what that means. Being a Slytherin does not mean you have to engage in the Dark Arts."

"I-I know," Albus stuttered, desperate to explain himself. "I just—"

"There's no excuse," Harry snarled, suddenly angry. "I despise people who practice and use the Dark Arts. I round them up and put them into Azkaban! _Surely,_ you know that."

Albus let the tears fall.

Harry did not look sympathetic. "Then, what makes _you_ any different? You've gone to Knockturn Alley, and it's not like you got lost. You went there specifically because you were curious in the Dark Arts."

Albus nodded, wiping his eyes, trying to stop the flow of tears. "I-I d-don't know w-why—"

"You know perfectly well why you went," Harry snapped. "Never, ever, submit to the Dark Arts. I don't care how much they intrigue you—_never_ let yourself use them."

Albus nodded again, this time more vigorously.

Harry looked a bit calmer, but he still had that look of disgust on his face. "You can come down for dinner in an hour. Otherwise, stay in here." With those words, Albus' father turned to leave. Suddenly, he stopped and turned back around. Harry dug into his pocket, took out a package of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, and placed it on Albus' bedside table.

Once his father was gone, Albus flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes, a sick feeling in his stomach.

* * *

"The shadow monsters of the Specter have been unleashed... that Potter boy who nearly ruined our plans will be killed at last, and the Paradox will be released at long last..."

A figure in a blood-red cloak raised a terrifying black rod into the air, causing it to rain. Thunder rumbled loudly, and lightning flashed across the sky.

A different figure took the place of the first, this one in an _emerald_-_green_ cloak.

It whispered, _"A storm is coming, the greatest in history..."_

* * *

**Author's Note: ****I rated this story 'T' just to be safe. It could probably be 'K+' as well, but I just didn't want to stretch it. **


	4. The Boy of the Past

**-Chapter Four-**

**The Boy of the Past**

Albus' mood didn't improve as the summer continued. His parents didn't look at him or communicate with him at all—unless it was to give him nasty looks. Albus didn't exactly blame them. Any misdemeanors having to do with Dark Magic were taken _very_ seriously in the Potter household, but he wished that _someone_ would forgive him.

Albus had been utterly lonely for the part of the summer following the Knockturn Alley fiasco, and he couldn't even take his mind off his troubles by inventing Potions, since his mother had confiscated his supplies.

Rose and Hugo had visited for a few days sometime during the leftover the summer, but they had been a bit unsure about how to act around him. Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron did not behave much differently from Albus' parents. Lily seemed a bit fearful of him and usually fled the room whenever he was there. James, on the other hand, was basking in Albus' misery.

On September 1st, the Potter family climbed into their car with Albus and James' trunks, all very unhappy. Albus kept his mouth shut all the way to King's Cross while James insulted him about being an evil, scummy, and cowardly Slytherin.

"James, don't say that!" Ginny snapped.

James paid no attention to her, and Albus took all of the insults, believing them. His self-esteem and self-confidence (which had both been higher than ever before because Albus had been made King of Slytherin) had plummeted back to their usual amount—_zero._

It was pouring. Thunder rumbled and boomed and lightning crackled and flashed, making the sky sound and look volatile. Albus puzzled about the weather—it had been raining without stopping ever since his birthday, which was unheard of. Rainstorms did not go on for a month straight in Britain. Albus wondered what the muggles thought about the weather—Albus could only assume that some magic must have interfered with the atmosphere.

The Potter family finally arrived at King's Cross Station, quite a bit late, put Albus and James' trunks into carts, and wheeled them into the station.

"We're late! We're late! James, you go first," Albus' mother ordered frantically when they got to the barrier that led to Platform 9 ¾. With a cocky smirk over at his younger brother, James ran through the barrier, not even flinching as he did so. After him, Ginny, Lily, and Harry went through, gesturing at him to follow them.

Taking a deep breath, Albus started running toward the barrier, bracing himself for the crash.

It came.

Albus' trolley went out of control and went careening sideways, Herwina squawked and screeched in shock and flapped her wings in desperation. His trunk tumbled out as the trolley fell on its side. Albus himself smacked his head on the wall and staggered around, clutching it.

A curious group of muggles had gathered around him, looking at Herwina flailing in her cage and muttering about animal abuse. Albus struggled to his feet, waved them off, and picked up his trunk again. It was extremely heavy. Feeling a bit panicked, Albus tried to figure out what to do.

The barrier to Platform 9 ¾ was blocked—but _why? _Albus glanced at his watch and his heart nearly stopped with horror. It was 10:58. Albus frantically pushed against the wall, hoping that it would give way.

10:59.

_Uh-oh. Three seconds, two seconds, one second..._

11:00.

Feeling a bit faint, Albus slid to the ground, his head still hurting from the crash. The Hogwarts Express was gone—_gone! _Where were his parents? Surely, they were frantic and looking for him. In a minute, they would come back out and would Apparate him to Hogwarts.

Albus heard a loud _crack_. He let out a choked scream. In front of him was something with bat-like ears and long nose. It was thing he had least expected to see: A house-elf.

Albus had seen house-elves before because his aunt had dragged him to meet them and talk to them, but he didn't particularly care for them. This one had gigantic, electric blue eyes and was wearing a neat pillowcase. Albus looked around to make sure that no muggles were watching.

"Mr. Potter, sir, Dinky has come to speak with you!" squeaked the house-elf. "And don't worry about the muggles. Dinky has put a spell on them—they will not notice Albus Potter and Dinky!"

Albus gathered by the pitch of her voice that it was female. But, Albus could tell right away that this was not a normal house-elf. She spoke with dignity and a slight cockiness, and she did not bow or blubber at him like most house-elves did.

"W-What?" Albus gasped out.

'Dinky' seemed a bit annoyed that he was taking so long to catch on. "Albus Potter is in great danger. Dinky must warn him, because Dinky must."

_That explains a lot, _Albus thought sarcastically.

Dinky had apparently read his thoughts, because she gave him a very nasty look. Albus was a bit shocked; house-elves weren't outright rude to humans. In fact, it was usually quite the opposite.

"Albus Potter is annoyed now, but he shall not be when he hears what Dinky has to say!" said Dinky, looking a bit indignant.

"What do you have to say?" Albus snapped. "I just missed my train! Why was that barrier blocked—?" he suddenly stopped and looked suspiciously at Dinky.

She had turned up seconds after the barrier was blocked... was it a coincidence?

"What do you want? Did you—did you block the barrier?" Albus demanded, taking a guess.

"Albus Potter is quite clever, he is," Dinky grumbled. "Clever for a _human. _Then again, Albus Potter is far more powerful than any human should be, and far more powerful than any house-elf should be, too."

Albus narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you acting like a goblin, centaur, or something like that?" Albus asked. "House-elves are supposed suck up to humans and be nice and—"

"Ah, but Dinky isn't like the rest of them," the house-elf replied, looking pleased with herself. "Dinky is special, and Dinky is glad to be so."

Albus was utterly lost—so much for being clever.

Dinky suddenly turned more serious. "But Dinky has important business to attend to with Mr. Potter. Will he come with Dinky? Dinky can get Albus Potter to Hogwarts, but only after he learns what he must learn."

Albus was more lost than ever before, but he registered a few of her words: Dinky could get him back to Hogwarts. Should he wait for his parents? There was a fair chance that his parents wouldn't come back through the barrier for a while—perhaps they had thought that he had gotten on the train and wouldn't bother to come looking for him.

"All right, I'll come with you," Albus agreed, seizing his trunk and Herwina's cage.

"Albus Potter needs not to worry about his owl and his trunk, Dinky will transport it to his dormitory at Hogwarts," the house-elf assured him. She snapped her fingers, and all of Albus' things disappeared.

Albus gaped at her.

Dinky looked very smug. "House-elf magic. Perhaps Albus will be good enough to attempt it, though Dinky doubts that even someone as powerful as him can manage it."

Albus let this sink in. This was a very odd house-elf.

"Dinky will tell Albus Potter what he needs to know!" Dinky continued. "This is Dinky's mission—"

"Your 'mission'?" Albus asked, scratching his head. "Why? Why is it so important for you to tell me what... whatever you want to tell me?"

Dinky took a deep breath. "Dinky is risking much, she is. Dinky has to be careful in what she tells Mr. Potter, because telling him too much will put both Dinky and Albus Potter in great danger."

"Tell me anyways," Albus prompted.

Dinky cleared her throat and began, "Dinky knows what Mr. Potter has done at Hogwarts last year. He has foiled the bad wizard Caspar Hoffman's plan, and he has damaged the part the embodiment of evil that was in the Orb."

"A part of the embodiment of evil?" Albus said, horrified. "Only a part? And I only damaged it?"

Dinky nodded solemnly. "And now, Albus Severus Potter is in great danger."

"B-But," Albus began desperately, "Hoffman was the only one! He's the only one who dared to even try to release the embodiment of evil! He was acting alone!"

"No," Dinky confirmed. "Hoffman was part of an intricate game, a game where there are many, many players. Albus Potter is one of them."

"What?" Albus spluttered. "What do you mean? Hoffman—he was just the beginning? There's more from where he came from?"

Dinky shook her head. With a tremble in her voice, she said, "Dinky cannot say anything more, Mr. Potter. No more! Dinky will take sir to Hogwarts now."

Albus tried to protest, but she did not pay him any attention and grasped his wrist. He once again felt as if he was being squeezed into a shoebox. A second later, he stumbled out on to the wet Hogwarts grounds.

It was pouring, and Albus was soaked to his bones in less than a second.

"Dinky is able to use her magic to get through Hogwarts' protection," Dinky explained quickly. "Now, Dinky must go."

"Wait!" Albus shouted. "Tell me more! Why did you say so little and then stop? I need to know—"

But Dinky was gone.

Albus felt sick. Hoffman _had_ been a pawn. And hadn't Dinky mentioned that Albus had a part to play, too?

_It's not over. All is _not_ well._

He peered through the thick rain, trying to find a way to the castle door. It was still too early, and the Hogwarts Express was probably still chugging along, on its way to Hogwarts.

Then Albus jumped in shock. He had spotted a man leaning on a nearby tree. Albus squinted, unsure whether he was seeing things or not. He ran forward, trying to see the person clearly. He got very close.

And let out a gasp of disgust.

Half of the man's face was completely gone. In its place was an ugly red scar, stretching from his right temple to his chin. The man only had one eye that could see. That one was reddish brown, but the other—the one that had been damaged by the scar—was pure blood-red, without the whites or the pupil. It was pulsing sickeningly, and it gave the impression that it was alive and could still see. The man seemed to radiate power and darkness, and his mismatched gaze sent shivers through Albus. After giving him a look of the utmost hatred, the man glowed blood-red, and a split second later, was gone.

Albus stood there, completely flabbergasted. Had he just seen someone, or had it been a trick of the rain? A man. A terrifying man with a ruined, scarred face and a glowing pure red eye. The way the man had glowed blood-red—wasn't that like how Albus sometimes glowed bright green?

Trying to convince himself that he'd been hallucinating, he ran toward the castle, his teeth chattering and his muggle clothes soaked through. How was he going to explain himself? He was quite a few hours early. He reached the castle doors, trying to figure out what to do. What story was he going to tell them? Albus thought, his brain working furiously to come up with an adequate lie that wouldn't reveal anything.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his collar and whirled him around. Albus let out a squeak of fear and came face to face with the person at Hogwarts that he hated most: Luke Irving, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Potter! What are you doing here?" hissed Irving, clutching Albus' collar so tightly that Albus was quickly losing air.

"I-It was an accident—" Albus choked out.

Irving loosened his grip, growling. "Get inside. You're going to need to explain yourself," Irving snarled. He snapped his fingers, and the doors opened. He shoved Albus inside and followed him in, waving his wand to dry them both. Relieved and much warmer, Albus followed Irving into the Great Hall.

All the professors were already assembled there, apparently just finishing up their lunch. Albus spotted a very pretty girl with light brown hair who was terribly familiar. What was _Elina_ doing here? She glanced toward the entrance of the Great Hall and her mouth fell open. She let out a shriek and ran out of the room, leaving her plate of food.

Well, that proved whatever theories Albus had about Elina living at Hogwarts, but it seemed that she didn't want anyone to know. Why? Perhaps she was just embarrassed, but Albus couldn't imagine why she would be.

Gale Triton, the stupid Headmaster of Hogwarts who Albus heartily disliked, jumped in his seat. "Luke? _What?_ Mr. Potter—"

"I found him standing in the rain," Irving explained coldly, pushing Albus forward. "Tell us everything, now."

"We'll go to my office," Triton offered, finishing up his lunch. Albus' stomach grumbled, and he blushed with embarrassment. Triton gestured at Albus to follow him, and Albus did so, Neville and Irving trailing behind.

They reached the ugly gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's Office, and Triton said, "The Battle of Hogwarts!"

Triton nodded to Neville, and the Herbology professor hurried away. Albus took the moving spiral staircase up to the Headmaster's Office and stepped in after Triton and Irving.

"Sit down," Triton said, pointing to the hard, uncomfortable chair in front of a large desk that was covered with papers.

Albus did so, running his chosen cover story over in his head. He had to keep his face void of emotion, and he had to act innocent and unknowing. Albus smirked slightly when he remembered how he had tricked Hoffman—the foolish Dark Wizard who had tried to steal the Phantasm Orb—last year and convinced him that he was an evil genius who wanted revenge on his family.

"So, what do I do?" Albus asked once he had finished telling a story about being taken by an unknown house-elf. (It was mostly true, though.) "Do I just stay here until the feast starts?"

"There's really nothing else for you to do," Neville said.

"You can go to your dormitory," Triton told Albus. "You said that this house-elf took your luggage to Hogwarts, correct?"

Albus nodded and said, "I have my wand with me." With those words, he turned to leave.

He stumbled inside the Slytherin common room and went to his dormitory. A bejeweled sign hung on the door, telling him that the dormitory was for second-year boys. The door swung open of its own accord and Albus gladly stepped in. He was so tired out that he fell asleep without changing. He tossed and turned in his sleep, his head swimming with questions that he didn't have the answer to.

* * *

The cell was dark and grimy. Light barely shone through the bars, and a magic shield circled the edges, preventing escape. What was most strange about the cell was its inhabitant. A boy, only twelve years old, sat in the middle.

There was nothing extraordinary about the boy at first glance. He was scrawny and not much of a looker. His hair was smooth and dark, and his eyes were an unusual shade of reddish brown. His face was streaked with mud, and he had clearly been crying.

The cell door glowed for a brief moment, and then swung open of its own accord. Three wizards stood there. They were wearing the same robes, evidently a uniform of some sort. Perhaps they were soldiers, or guards.

"Get up," grunted one of them. He pointed his wand at the boy.

The boy shakily stood up and regarded the soldier with a calculating glare. There was something unsettling about his eyes. They had a slightly sinister glint to them.

"We're taking you to the King. He will decide what to do with you," continued the soldier.

The boy said nothing, but continued to stare at the guard. The other two soldiers stepped inside and placed magical handcuffs on the boy with their wands.

The boy looked emotionlessly at the soldier. "You know that the handcuffs cannot hold me. This cell cannot hold me. Not even the King's castle can hold me. Nothing can," he said in an empty voice.

"Quiet!" snarled the guard, firing a hex at the boy.

The boy focused his gaze on the hex, which stopped in its tracks as if an invisible barrier had appeared in front of it. How had the boy done that without his wand? How had he done it simply with his eyes?

The soldier looked very nervous, but tried to hide it. "Come with us, _monster_."

The boy's eyes glinted, but he said nothing. He let the guards lead him out this medieval prison. Once they were out, the boy and the soldiers Apparated with an earsplitting _crack_.

The boy reappeared outside a grand castle. The Wizard King's castle. The boy looked pleased, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He was led into the castle by the guards, who looked as if they were afraid to touch him.

To them, the boy was contaminated. He wasn't like the rest of them. He wasn't a wizard. He wasn't even human.

The boy stepped inside the main hall of the castle. Paths to his immediate right and left led into huge chambers, but he and the soldiers did not take either of these. They continued on, sparing little time for the regal and magical decor.

And finally, they walked into the greatest room of them all. The throne room. At the far end was a high-backed, red chair. Detailed pictures of previous kings and queens and predictions of future ones decorated the dark wood of the throne, but the thing most obvious about the throne was its occupant.

A man, tall, cold, and unforgiving, sat in the throne. His hair, like the boy's, was dark and smooth. But when he looked at the boy, there was nothing but distaste in his gaze.

"Father...," began the boy in a hopeful voice.

The King's face twisted in a snarl. "You are no son of mine, freak. You are a dark essence. You are nothing but a creature. A _monster_."

The boy looked up at his father, all the emotion gone in his gaze. "But I am still your son."

The King pulled out his wand and pointed it at his son's heart. "No. You are not human. You are a monster. An animal. _Scum._ You are no son of mine."

The emotion returned to the boy's gaze. His face contorted in fury and hatred. "What will you do to me? Kill me because of my powers threaten you? You cannot kill me."

The King snorted cruelly. "Kill you? That will end your suffering. No, I prefer something that will teach you not to ever attempt to stop me." He focused his wand instead at his son's face.

The boy's eyes widened with fear. He cowered before the King, covering his head with his hands. "Father, please! I am your son! Please, spare me! Just because I am different than everyone else and more powerful, does not mean that I am I threat! No! _NO_!"

But the King had already uttered his curse. A jet of blood-red light shot out of his wand and hit the right side of the boy's face. A terrible scar, red and raw, stretched from his right temple to his chin, destroying half of his face. His right eye was no longer normal. It was now pure red. The pupils and the whites had disappeared, and it was nothing but a grossly pulsating, veined oblong. The boy screamed and clutched at his face, unable to stand the pain.

The King, looking faintly sick, put his wand back. "That will teach you not to cross me. Be warned. Take him back to his cell!"

Both of the boy's now mismatched eyes locked on the King, the cruel man who had disfigured his own son's face.

"_You fool_," the boy whispered, his normal eye blazing with hatred. His destroyed eye shone brightly, and the rest of his body followed. The boy stretched out his hands on either side of him and smirked. His blood-red glow was blinding now, and several people yelled out and covered their eyes, unable to look at the shining blood-red light.

The King stumbled off his throne, horrified at the transformation that was taking place in front of him.

"You cannot kill me. But I can kill you. I am a _monster_. How about I show you how much of a monster I can be, dear Father?"

_Lightning._ It was lightning that danced across his palms, but it was not normal lightning. This lightning was blood-red, and thousand times more deadly than its non-magical counterpart. The boy faced his palm at the King, who was now shaking.

"How does it to be on the other side?" asked the boy, narrowing his eyes at his father. "Beg me for mercy. Convince me to spare you. But it will not work. I am not human. I am not affected by your petty emotions."

"Please... my son...please," choked out the King.

"_I am no son of yours_," mimicked the boy. Arcs of volatile dark red lightning shot out his palms, twisting in the air, their target the sobbing King. They struck him in the chest, and he toppled to the floor, an expression of eternal terror on his face.

"He's killed the King!" wailed one of the soldiers.

The boy swayed on the spot. His powers had taken much of his energy, and he could not support himself. He fell to the ground and closed his normal eye. His red one, however, remained open, giving the impression that it could see something that the other could not.

The soldiers surged forward, shouting and yelling. They grabbed the boy, who was now docile, and dragged him away.

The boy was cackling madly.

* * *

Albus screamed at the top of his voice and jerked upright in his bed. His heart was beating terribly fast, and he could barely control his breathing. For the first time, he remembered his dream—or rather, his _nightmare_.

It had been so unusually vivid that Albus thought that he was still there in that castle, the castle that was not Hogwarts. He almost thought that he was there with the boy with the newly disfigured face. That boy with supposedly inhuman powers.

And that lightning, what _was_ that? It had killed the King, and it wasn't even the Killing Curse. How had the boy done that? Albus' thoughts were spinning around his head, and he desperately tried to reorder them. Perhaps the nightmare had simply been a figment of Albus' imagination. Yes, that was it. Nothing but a nightmare. It hadn't happened.

Albus glanced at the clock and his mouth dropped open in horror. He was late to the feast! He threw his school robes on and ran out his dormitory, the common room, and the dungeons. Panting, he finally arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall and stumbled inside, his face very pink. Everyone was already eating, and the new first years seemed to have already been Sorted. Everyone seemed momentarily shocked, but unluckily, James was the one to recover the quickest.

"Why are you late?" James snarled from the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, _Al!_ I was so worried when you weren't on the train!" Rose gasped.

Albus spotted Elina, who was staring at him. He could see from the look in her eyes that she didn't want him to tell anyone that she lived at Hogwarts.

"I—uh—was Apparated here," Albus mumbled to Rose. "I missed the train. And—er—I fell asleep and woke up late."

James pulled up a sneer and said, "Whatever. I doubt that anyone would even care if a loser like you disappeared."

Some people laughed, though both Rose and Elina shot James dirty looks. Albus, fighting the urge to hex James, stomped over the the Slytherin table, where he received better greetings.

"Potter, why are you late?" asked Wyatt Hemley, the Slytherin Quidditch captain.

"I missed the train," Albus explained.

"Well, glad to see that you're back," said Patty Parkinson, a fourth-year girl who played Chaser. "What would we be without our king?"

There were some appreciative laughs, and several people complimented Albus. He sat down next to Scorpius, who looked very relieved.

"Rose and I were really scared—she was going spare," Scorpius said. "You'd better tell us everything."

"Not here," Albus whispered. Oswald Nesbitt, a fellow second year, was watching them through his owlish brown eyes.

"Hello," Albus said to his fellow second year, a bit nervously. He, Scorpius, and Oswald weren't exactly best friends, though they were generally civil to one another.

"Um—hi," Oswald said. "Good summer?"

_No_, Albus thought dryly. However, he said, "It was all right."

"Are you Albus Potter?" someone asked from behind Albus. Shocked, he whirled around to see a short first-year boy with blue eyes that were currently widened with awe.

"Yes...," Albus said slowly.

"Oh!" the boy squeaked. "You're the King of Slytherin, aren't you?"

Albus went a bit pink. "I guess that's what they call me," he muttered.

"You're so _cool_!_"_ the boy said eagerly. "You were some kind of hero last year for this house, weren't you? You led us in a prank war against the big bully, James Potter!"

Albus was a bit overwhelmed. After a summer of being insulted by James, it felt strange to be hearing praise. "I guess I did..."

"You're the best!" the boy squeaked. "I want be just like you! My name's Gerald Erwett!"

Albus went even redder. "I—er—thanks! Welcome to Slytherin."

Gerald looked happy enough to faint.

"You've got a fan," Scorpius said, smirking as Gerald stumbled away to sit with the other first years.

"Shut it," Albus told him.

As he ate his dinner, Albus couldn't help but feel extremely content. He was back with his people—the Slytherins. He was back at his _home._ He was King again.

However, his feeling of happiness was shattered. Another boy, this one a seventh year, sat in front of him.

"Hello," Albus said uncertainly.

"I'm not here to compliment you," sneered the boy. "My name's Vladimir Rylon."

"All right," Albus said, his tone becoming colder. Rylon did not seem very friendly.

"I just wanted to say that I don't think you're worthy of being King," Rylon spat. "What have _you_ done?"

Albus gritted his teeth.

"You're only a second year—" Rylon growled.

"My age doesn't matter," Albus snarled. "If they call me King, then I am, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Rylon smirked. "Is there? I don't think you deserve that power, and I'm going to prove it."

Albus glared after the seventh year as he left.

Scorpius looked very angry, too. "What right does he have to challenge you?"

"I don't care what he does," Albus said determinedly. "I won't let him overthrow me."

The school finished up the Start-of-Term Feast, and finally, everyone was full and happy. Triton stood up as the food disappeared from the plates and clapped his hands to get their attention.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," Triton said, sounding bored. "This year, there's going to a few changes. The rules are the same as always, so I won't go into them."

There was a good bit of cheering.

"Anyways, the changes are as follows: Harry Potter requested that we add a Dueling Program to our curriculum..."

"Dad mentioned that this summer," Albus whispered to Scorpius.

"...so you all will have an extra class on Saturday when it starts. The Dueling Program will start next Saturday, and more information will be given later," Triton said. "And we have a new Potions professor, Hershel Heartley. Everyone dismissed."

Albus gasped. "Hey—did he say Hershel Heartley? That's the actor that Lily fancies! Odd, I didn't see him when I came earlier today."

"Does she?" Scorpius snorted. "Well, Heartley looks like a bit of a duffer to me. Not to mention he keeps looking into his mirror and smoothing down his hair. He, your brother, and Eric Derlwin could make a good group. We'll call them the Toerag Trio."

Albus snickered.

The two boys made their way to the dungeons with the rest of the Slytherins, both deeply curious about the Dueling Program. They talked for a while, and Albus told Scorpius that Hoffman perhaps wasn't the end of all their problems. They resolved to tell Rose when they got the chance.

Albus collapsed on his bed, not very sleepy. He had taken a rather long nap this afternoon, and he lay awake for a long time, listening to Scorpius and Oswald snoring.

One thing kept returning to Albus' thoughts: his nightmare. He had been given the impression that it had taken place it in the past, but had it taken place at all, or was it simply just that—a nightmare that wasn't real?


	5. The Acting Professor

**-Chapter Five-**

**The Acting Professor**

On Monday morning, Albus and Scorpius made their way to the Great Hall, ready for their classes. They received their schedules to see that it was similar to last year's. They still had too many classes with the Gryffindors, though Albus wasn't complaining. He wanted to see Rose and Elina, and he would put up with the rest of the Gryffindors if it meant seeing his cousin and the girl he liked.

Their first class was Charms with the Hufflepuffs. There were only three Slytherins—Albus, Oswald, and Scorpius—and there were nearly a dozen Hufflepuffs. As always, the Slytherins were hopelessly outnumbered.

Albus, who was used to the insults from the other Houses, simply shrugged them away and performed every charm perfectly. Both he and Scorpius were considered magical prodigies and were extremely gifted with a wand. The two of them usually got together to invent new spells and practice dueling with advanced magic.

Professor Moore, as always, grudgingly awarded Slytherin ten points. None of the professors liked the Slytherins very much, but most were fair. The only exception was Irving, who favored the Gryffindors and utterly despised the Slytherins. He took every chance available to be cruel to Slytherin House.

Next, they had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors. Professor Patil awarded Rose points for answering questions (Rose rather liked to show off, almost as much as Scorpius.) and told them to turn beetles into buttons. Albus and Scorpius collected their respective piles of buttons as Rose fumed beside them, only having a couple successful beetles-turned-buttons. Elina, however, was doting on Albus' talent.

"How do you do it?" Elina giggled.

Albus felt dizzy—she was very close to him, and he could smell vanilla and cinnamon. "I—I d-don't know," he stuttered, blushing.

"We're extremely talented," Scorpius boasted. Rose smacked her Transfiguration textbook into his shoulder and stalked away with the rest of the Gryffindors, practically steaming with jealousy.

Elina waved goodbye to the two Slytherins and hurried after Rose, leaving Albus uncoordinated and breathless.

"Well, I didn't know that Rose was so sensitive," Scorpius grumbled, staring at the back of Rose's bushy orange head.

* * *

The week continued, and the Slytherins, as always, had to endure insults and bullying from the other houses. Oswald was still prone to bursting into tears, but he was getting better at standing up for himself.

Finally, the end of the week arrived.

Potions was first. The three Slytherins dragged themselves there, not knowing anything about how good the new professor would be.

"Hello, scummy snakes," said a familiar voice from the group of Gryffindors. Albus gritted his teeth and took out his wand, ready to splatter Eric Derlwin's insides all over the wall.

Eric Derlwin was James' sidekick, and was a good bit stupider. He was just as mean and arrogant, though, and all the Slytherins heartily hated him.

"Eric!" Rose said, annoyed. "Don't say that to Al and Scorpius!"

"Why are you friends with them?" Derlwin spat. "Especially the _vampire!"_

Scorpius glared at Derlwin, looking murderous. "Say that I'm a vampire again and I'll—"

Suddenly, the door to the Potions classroom opened and Heartley strolled outside. "Hello, children. I am Hershel Heartley, though, of course, you know who I am already. How could you not know someone as famous as me?"

"Why would I?" Derlwin muttered.

Albus privately agreed.

"So, come in, then," said Heartley, inviting them inside. Albus filed inside with the rest of the students. The pillows that Hoffman had used last year as seats had disappeared, and the classroom was once more arranged in the traditional desk-and-chair form.

"I've been an actor for my whole life," Heartley began as they all sat down. "You can see me perform in Diagon Alley every weekend. Has anyone seen the plays I've starred in?"

Albus had seen the boring plays on Lily's orders, but he wasn't about to admit it. Rose raised her hand, and so did a few more people.

Heartley looked extremely disappointed. "Ah, I'm sure some of you are too shy to say that you have. Well, anyways, this is supposed to be Potions, correct?"

Albus gritted his teeth. With Hoffman as the professor last year, Albus had actually found the class fun and exciting. But with Heartley, five minutes in and it was already boring. Heartley had mangled and twisted Albus' favorite subject in the world.

"In this class, I will not only teach you how to make potions—" Heartley began.

"I doubt that you'll teach us anything," Albus whispered to himself.

"—but I will also teach you acting and drama! It's an important skill that everyone must have! So, let's review one of my latest performances..."

Albus smacked his hand to his face, and he wasn't the only one who did. Fifteen minutes later, Albus had fallen asleep. Heartley's class, if that was possible, was even more boring than Professor Binn's.

"In my first show, _The Falle of Evile, _I starred as the dashing hero, Sir Polydictarus Wyart Fushicus—"

Suddenly, Oswald spoke. "There's a bug chewing on my wand," he said nervously.

"What?" spluttered Heartley. "A bug? Really, that's not a good reason to interrupt me! Kill it or something."

Shrugging, Oswald smashed it into the desk. Heartley continued with his pointless lecture. Everyone who had raised their heads from their desks in the hope that something interesting was going to happen had already fallen back to sleep.

"Hey!" Oswald cried a few seconds later. "I thought I killed it! But the bug's still here! Now, there are _two!_ Wait—_three!_ No, no, no! There's _four_ now!"

"What's going on?" Heartley thundered, looking very irritated. "Kill them! Why did you interrupt me when I was talking about the part where I put my sword through Emric the Evil in _The Falle of Evile?_"

Oswald screamed. "There are more than a dozen now! Where do they keep coming from?" He shook his infested wand desperately, causing the bugs to fall to the floor.

"Chizpurfles!" Rose shrieked. "Mum made me read a book on magical creatures! Those look like Chizpurfles! They like to chew on wands!"

The dozen bugs had grown to an amount of a hundred in the few short seconds that it had taken Rose to speak.

"This doesn't make sense!" Albus said. "They're multiplying too fast! This doesn't happen!"

Everyone was screaming now. Heartley screamed, too, his wail reminiscent of a three-year-old girl's. He threw down his script and ran into the back room, sobbing in desperation. "Every man for himself!"

"Get to higher ground!" Albus yelled as the bugs reached the thousands mark. They had turned into a sea of black and were crawling over the students.

"It's no use!" Scorpius gasped as he stumbled on top of his desk. "They'll reach the ceiling before long!"

"Someone get help!" Albus shouted. He took out his wand and tried to blast the the Chizpurfles away. It didn't work, and those that he had managed to kill multiplied into about fifty each.

"I'll get Professor Irving!" Elina said. She jumped off her desk into the ocean of bugs and dashed into the hallway.

"Someone close the door, or they'll infest the whole school!" Albus ordered. He slid off his desk and pushed his way through the Chizpurfles, finally reaching the door and closing it before too many could escape.

"We're going to die!" Oswald wailed.

Albus saw a mischievous smirk cross Eric Derlwin's face. To Albus' horror, Derlwin seized a handful of bugs and threw it at Scorpius.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Albus bellowed at Derlwin.

Scorpius let out a snarl of fury and leapt at the bully, and the two boys were quickly engaged in a furious bug fight. Albus ran toward them, ready to aid Scorpius in strangling Derlwin.

Apparently, some dunderhead Gryffindor thought that it was funny to throw bugs at each other in such a dire situation, because the room was suddenly covered in flying Chizpurfles. Albus pulled a wriggling Chizpurfle out of his ear, grabbed a handful more, and threw them at Derlwin.

All of the students were now screaming at the top of their voices. The room was halfway full with Chizpurfles, and neither Heartley nor Irving was in sight.

At that moment, several of Derlwin's thugs rammed into Albus and Scorpius. The bug fight turned into a fist fight, and Albus was finding it hard to throw feeble punches at the same time as trying not to swallow the Chizpurfles.

Then the door opened. Irving and Elina stepped in, and everyone cheered. Irving, instead of helping, ran into the store room where Heartley was hiding. Albus was utterly furious. He dodged a punch from Derlwin, threw a Chizpurfle at another thug, and followed Irving into the store room. He ran into Irving, who was coming out with a vial of deadly-looking red potion.

Entranced, Albus watched as Irving threw the vial into the air and pointed his wand at it. "_Frangere suspendo!"_ The vial shattered and the potion hovered in the air. It expanded and swirled quickly around the room, causing any Chizpurfle it ran into to sizzle and quickly evaporate.

Heartley uncertainly crept out of the store room, his face pink. "I was looking for that potion," he said.

Albus snorted.

"Class is dismissed," Irving snapped. "You have a free period until Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Gratefully, the second years hurried out of the classroom. Whatever Chizpurfle that had been residing in Albus' ear had been killed, but he still felt itchy.

"I'm going to throw myself in the lake to get clean," Rose muttered.

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius headed out into the Hogwarts grounds, wanting to see Hagrid. It was drizzling slightly, so it wasn't pouring for the first time in a week. Albus spotted a small, gray rock near the entrance to the school. He paid it no attention, though. Albus stopped as they neared Hagrid's hut. He had the strange feeling that something was following him. He turned around to see the small, gray rock. It looked utterly identical to the one near the entrance of the school, so why was it halfway through the grounds?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Albus knocked the door of the gamekeeper's hut. A moment later, the door swung open.

"Rosie! Al! Scorpius!" bellowed Hagrid, pulling them all into a bone-crushing hug. The three second years stumbled into his hut, trying to catch their breaths.

"Hi, Hagrid," said Scorpius uncertainly. Scorpius and Hagrid hadn't originally got along well, but Hagrid seemed to like Scorpius as much as Rose and Albus now.

The trio sat down at Hagrid's table as he served rockcakes. What little appetite Albus had disappeared as soon as he unearthed a talon in his. They told Hagrid about the fiasco during Potions, but Hagrid seemed to already know about it.

"Ah, tha's strange, tha' is," Hagrid grunted. "They're not supposed ter grow like tha'."

"That's what I thought," Albus said. "It seemed so unnatural. Do you think they could have been enchanted or something?"

"The other professors tol' me abou' it," Hagrid explained. "They though' the same thing."

"That's an idea," Scorpius said.

"And Heartley didn't do anything!" Rose said angrily. "He just ran into the store room and left us to fight the Chizpurfles!"

"Ah, tha' Heartley is a bit o' a duffer, ain't he?" Hagrid snorted. "He shouldn't be a teacher."

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius heartily agreed. They spent the rest of their free period insulting Heartley. Albus would certainly tell Lily about how much of a coward Heartley was.

Finally, it was nearly time for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the three second years unhappily left. Albus felt strangely depressed as he walked back to the castle. He had that feeling that he was being followed. Albus whirled around and came face to face with the rock that he had seen on the way to Hagrid's hut.

"That thing's been following us!" Albus said furiously. "I saw it five times!"

"It's a _rock,"_ Scorpius said, looking at Albus as if he had gone mad.

"Yeah, it is," Rose agreed. "Come on, or we'll be late."

When they were nearly at the castle, Albus turned around one last time. He saw that same small rock. It wiggled slightly.

"That's not a rock!" Albus yelped. "I knew it!"

"What?" Scorpius spluttered. "Did it just move?"

"Wait—I think I know what it is!" Rose said quickly. "My Mum made me read a book on monsters—that's how I knew about the Chizpurfles—and I think that's a Pogrebin. It's a demon-like creature that follows its victim around disguised as a rock until they collapse from depression."

"That's why I felt sad!" Albus gasped.

"Well, how do you get rid of it?" Scorpius asked.

"Um—I don't know," Rose admitted.

"I'll try this," Scorpius decided. He walked up toward the rock and kicked it. The rock collapsed, and Albus saw that it was a frightening creature that was somewhat similar to an elf, though not nearly as pleasant to look at. The creature was knocked out, thanks to Scorpius.

"That take cares of that," Rose said, grinning at Scorpius.

Scorpius blushed.

"But why is it here?" Albus said as they walked into the castle, not reassured in the slightest. "Is it native to Europe?"

Rose bit her lip. "I don't think so. I think it's usually found in Russia..."

"This is weird," Albus sighed. "Maybe it came from the Forbidden Forest..."

Rose and Scorpius didn't seem to be too worried, but Albus was still deeply unsettled. They went to Defense Against the Dark Arts, where Albus, Scorpius, and Oswald were tortured—as usual.

After DADA, they went to dinner. Albus noticed that the professors seemed to be more worried than usual. He spotted Triton nervously sharing a word with Neville. Professor Moore and Professor Patil were engaged in a hushed conversation, and Albus was able to lip-read one word: _Chizpurfles._

Once the Slytherins were finished with their dinner, they headed back their common room. When Albus entered, he saw that most of his housemates were crowded around the notice board. Albus squeezed his way through the students and stopped when he was close enough to glimpse the new addition to the notice board:

_The first dueling lesson will take place at 3 o'clock on Saturday, September 8__th__, and the whole school will attend. These dueling lessons will go on for a month. The professors will watch all students carefully for this month and will choose seven students to represent their house. A main dueling team will be chosen for each house and these dueling teams will duel against each other. There will be three matches for each house. Other, less advanced teams will also be created so everyone can participate. A captain will also be chosen for each team. _

_Sincerely, _

_ Gale Triton, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_ Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic_

_ Harry Potter, Head Auror_

_ Ron Weasley, Deputy Head Auror_

"So, Potter, may the best man win," someone sneered from behind Albus. He whirled around to see Rylon.

"What do you want?" Albus asked quietly.

"There's going to be a captain. You may think that you're the best duelist at this school, but you might see someone better," Rylon continued, pointing at himself.

Albus growled.

Rylon strolled off in a self-satisfied manner, his nose in the air.

Fortunately, not every Slytherin was so unfriendly.

"You're going to be chosen for the main team, Al!" said Gerald Erwett eagerly. "I can feel it! Wait—I bet you're even going to be Captain, even though you're just a second year!"

Albus flushed in pleasure. "Uh—thanks, Gerald."

Every other Slytherin seemed to agree.

"Good luck for tomorrow, Potter. I'm betting on you!"

"With you as Captain, Slytherin is sure to win!"

"You're an excellent duelist, Albus!"

"We'll show the Gryffindors what we're made of like you did last year!"

Albus turned so red that he almost turned purple.

Rylon, however, did not seem happy at all about the attention that Albus was receiving. He gave the younger boy a very nasty look. Albus gladly returned it, meeting Rylon's eyes. He saw a challenge there, and Albus was perfectly happy to take it on.

"I reckon we'll make it," Scorpius said as they went into their dormitory. "Just look at how good we are at magic."

"We shouldn't brag," Albus said firmly.

"You're too noble and modest. Sure that you're not a Gryffindor?" Scorpius teased.

"Gryffindors aren't modest at all—look at James!" Albus spat. "And I haven't seen much 'nobility' from them, either."

"What about Elina?" Scorpius asked, smirking.

Albus went very red again. "What about _Rose?"_ he retaliated.

It was Scorpius' turn to blush. "Wha—what are you t-talking about? What does that have to do with anything—?"

Albus was too tired to argue. He fell asleep soon after, excited for the Dueling Lesson that would take place the next day.


	6. Freak

**-Chapter Six-**

**Freak**

After eating lunch the next day, Albus, Rose, and Scorpius meandered around the school, waiting for the Dueling Lesson to begin. The rest of the school seemed to be doing the same thing, and nobody could think about anything else.

It was raining, as always. The weather was very strange—it had been raining every since Albus' birthday, and the weather wasn't letting out anytime soon. Albus tried to ignore the rumbling thunder and instead imagined himself as Captain along with King.

As modest as Albus was, he still wanted power. The idea of losing his throne to someone else was unthinkable. And if Albus wanted anyone to replace him, it certainly wouldn't be _Rylon._

_I'll just have to show him that I'm better, even though he's older, _Albus thought determinedly.

Finally, three o'clock arrived, and the trio hurried to the Great Hall. It had changed quite a bit ever since lunch—the four large House tables had disappeared and were replaced by a long stage, where Albus assumed the dueling would take place.

The students assembled in front of the stage, whispering among each other excitedly. Then a hush fell over the Great Hall. Albus could have heard a pin drop.

To Albus' horror, Irving strode into the room. "Well, let's start, shall we? This program won't be any more different than Defense Against the Dark Arts, but it will be focused primarily on dueling rather than other defensive methods. I will pair you all up, regardless of age. First, however, I will demonstrate with a colleague."

Irving stopped talking, looking resigned to the worst. He turned to the entrance of the Great Hall, from which Heartley entered, looking smug.

"Hello, all," Heartley said pompously. "I will be assisting in Irving's demonstration, in which I will—"

"We understand," Irving snapped. To the students, he said, "First, you face each other and bow."

Heartley bowed, twirling his hands and wand as he did so, which made him look utterly ridiculous. Irving bowed as well, though his teeth were gritted.

"Now remember, you cannot have physical contact in a duel. Only magic is allowed," Irving reminded them.

Eric Derlwin looked extremely disappointed, as did several other thugs. Albus and Scorpius, however, were very relieved. The two boys were brilliant with a wand, but they were both too scrawny and physically weak to be any good in a fist fight.

"For the purposes of this duel, we will count to three," Irving said. "Three...two...ONE!"

Heartley moved his wand in a dramatic figure-eight pattern, though this had absolutely no effect. Albus smirked. He knew that real life wasn't the same thing as plays or scripts, and Heartley didn't seem to know the difference.

Irving, however, was more competent. "_Impedimenta!" _The spell hit Heartley squarely in the chest, and the actor was thrown to the floor.

"Like that," Irving said, pocketing his wand. "We will come to pair you up, regardless of age."

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius stepped closer to each other. Irving came to them first. "Snakey there, you'll be with Mr. Derlwin..."

Scorpius groaned.

"... and Miss Weasley, you'll be with Miss Lyon."

Rose looked very pleased with this arrangement, and she happily joined her best friend from Gryffindor.

Irving turned to Albus, smirking. "And who should we pair up with you, Serpent King?"

Albus glared at his least favorite professor. He wasn't afraid of Irving anymore. Albus met the man's ice-blue eyes and felt a sharp pain in his head.

Or perhaps he was still afraid.

"Your partner will be that snake over there," Irving decided finally, gesturing toward Vladimir Rylon.

Albus was absolutely furious. Gritting his teeth, he walked over to stand in front of Rylon, who sneered. "Well, well, well, it's a duel against the 'King of Slytherin,'" said Rylon, drawing quotation marks around the words 'King of Slytherin' as if he was mocking them.

Albus did not say anything as he drew his wand and pointed it at Rylon.

Irving had finished pairing up the students and had returned to the stage. "All right, I want to see everything that you can do. The rest of the professors will be wandering around and taking notes—we'll choose the teams this way."

Albus gripped his wand tighter, waiting for Irving to say the word.

"Three... two... ONE!" Irving yelled.

Both Albus and Rylon started a second early and didn't even bother to bow. Albus was utterly shocked as Rylon casted his first spell at lightning speed—it was nonverbal. Albus dodged it and sent out a nonverbal Disarming Charm. Rylon blocked it with a silent Shield Charm and casted another silent spell so quickly that Albus almost missed it.

If Albus had thought that he was the best duelist in Slytherin, he was wrong—_completely_ wrong. Rylon was just a seventh year, but he possessed the dueling skill of a fully-trained Auror. There was no way that Albus could compete with that—especially since he was five years younger.

Determined not to give up so easily, Albus pushed his brain into full gear and dodged or blocked each nonverbal spell that Rylon sent at him and retaliated with another silent spell. But he couldn't keep using nonverbal spells—he usually didn't use them, and he didn't know a huge variety.

A bit desperate, Albus started to say his spells out loud and tried to use the most advanced magic he knew. Rylon, however, looked merely bored as he blocked everything and silently casted about a dozen different spells at the same time.

The professors were now staring at the two Slytherins using advanced and nonverbal magic far beyond their years. The teachers were gaping at both boys, unable to believe their eyes. All the Slytherins were watching, too, but they were staring at _Rylon_—not Albus—in awe.

Finally, Albus was too tired to block Rylon's simple Impediment Jinx. He was blasted backwards and hit the ground. Rylon smirked. "Surrender," Rylon said loudly enough for the whole Great Hall to hear, "_your throne_," he finished quietly so that only Albus could hear.

"Never!" Albus spat, quickly jumping back up on his feet.

Rylon looked amused. Albus' eyes glowed for a split second, and Rylon stepped back, horrified at what he saw in Albus' eyes—_pure evil._ Albus shook his head to clear his thoughts, though this did not help make the feeling of hatred go away.

"All right," said Irving, apparently recovering from the scene. "I saw great things from the Gryffindors—"

Albus snorted under his breath.

"—in these last few minutes. Would someone like to come up to demonstrate?"

"I'll do it," James said arrogantly. "Let's see who can beat _me_!"

There was a great deal of cheering, and many people started chanting, _"James! James! James! James Potter is our savior!" _

Albus gritted his teeth and looked at the ground. He felt so _angry_. He wanted to pulverize James or Rylon or even Irving, but the thing that worried him most was that he felt like he was capable of actually _doing_ it.

"Okay, James," Irving said, grinning at James. "Choose someone from the crowd to duel."

Albus tried to sink into the ground. _Please, please, please let him not pick me..._

"_Snivellus!"_ James decided, pointing at Albus. "But that might be unfair to him—he's really _stupid_!_"_

Nearly everyone laughed, and Irving looked particularly amused. The other professors, however, weren't smiling at all. They looked thoughtful and were whispering amongst each other, glancing at Albus or Rylon every now and then.

Albus, resigned to his doom, slowly walked to the stage. He saw Elina near the front of the crowd of students and felt extremely lightheaded all of a sudden. Apparently, James seemed to feel this, too, because he winked at Elina. She turned pink and smiled at James, which gave Albus a savage urge to use the Killing Curse on somebody.

The Slytherins, fortunately, were cheering loudly for Albus, though they were drowned out by the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw's chants of _"Alpus Snivellus is a loser!"_

"First, bow to each other," Irving said. "Sorry, James, I know that no one should have to bow to a _Slytherin_, but it's manners."

Albus gripped his wand tightly, imagining Irving dying a violent death. Both brothers bowed to each other, barely inclining their heads.

"Whenever you want to stop, say, 'I surrender.' Three... two... ONE!" Irving shouted. Albus started at the correct time, because he was determined not to give the rest of the school a reason to call the Slytherins cowardly.

Albus casted a nonverbal Disarming Charm, and to Albus' shock, James blocked it with a nonverbal Shield Charm.

Everyone _oohed_ in admiration and cheered for James.

Albus was furious. Had everyone, even James, turned into an overnight dueling genius? Of course, James had always been a gifted duelist—both Potter boys shared that trait.

_Tentaclifors, _Albus thought determinedly. The nonverbal spell shot toward his brother.

James blocked that, too, and shouted, _"Adfigo!"_

Albus gasped. James had stolen the spell that Albus had invented and was using it against him! Albus dodged it and doubled his efforts, and so did James.

If anything, the two brothers seemed equally matched. Albus found James quite hard, though not as difficult as Rylon. The two brothers used a mix of nonverbal and verbal spells, often insulting each other between spells.

"Loser!" James taunted.

"Git!" Albus retaliated, casting an Impediment Jinx at the same time.

"Slime!" James said, silently casting a Shield Charm.

"Idiot!" Albus shouted.

"_Traitor!"_ James growled, whipping his wand through the air and sending a jet of red light toward Albus.

Albus was so furious that he forgot to pay attention. _Traitor, loser, freak... _He thought of Rylon and how he threatened Albus' position as King of Slytherin, the only place that Albus felt as if he truly belonged. He thought of Elina, who would never return his feelings. He thought of his father, who thought Albus was going dark. And then he finally thought about he had always been the outcast and oddity of his family.

Albus was so immersed in his thoughts that the Disarming Charm hit him. His wand went spinning out of his grip and landed a few yards away.

James laughed gleefully, pumping his fist in the air. "I beat you! I won!"

"Do you surrender?" asked Irving, smirking.

Albus' eyes flashed. "No," he said firmly.

"What?" James spluttered, looking confused. "But you lost your wand!"

"_I don't need my wand_," Albus hissed. He began to change. His untidy jet black hair flew about on an invisible breeze, and he was illuminated in a ghostly green light.

James stepped back in alarm, his eyes wide with fear as his little brother shone brighter and brighter, nothing but a blazing sphere of bright green light.

Albus felt the dark power thundering through his veins—he felt _invincible._ Albus stretched his hand out, still glowing. Everyone was staring at the stage, unable to believe their eyes. Suddenly, something that looked like bright green lightning erupted from Albus' palm and shot straight at James. For a moment, everyone froze and watched the strange green lightning crackle and twist its way toward its victim.

James let out a yell of fear and dove aside as the bolt of lightning hit the stage where he had been standing a split second before, leaving a sizzling crater.

_BAM! _Albus was blasted to the ground so hard that the walls of the Great Hall shook. A murderous Irving was standing above him.

"DON'T!" Irving screamed, looking deranged.

Albus, extremely tired and confused, attempted to get up. His head was throbbing, and his momentary feeling of invincibility was replaced with exhaustion. His legs unable to support him, Albus sunk to the ground and clutched his head.

"Everyone dismissed!" Irving snarled to the students. All of them left, whispering and glancing fearfully at Albus as they did so.

"_Freak!"_ James said to Albus. "You should be locked up in a ward at St. Mungo's!_"_

"Go, James," Irving ordered, and James obeyed, looking shaken. The professors hurried to where Albus was standing.

"Is he okay?" Neville asked frantically, directing his question to Irving. "This wasn't the first time—he's done it before—but he's never done it like this—what _was _that—_lightning—_but it was bright green! Maybe it was a magical kind of lightning—"

"Get out of here, Longbottom!" Irving barked. "I'll deal with him."

Grudgingly, Neville and the other professors left, leaving Albus alone with the last person he wanted to be left alone with.

"You're a _monster_," whispered Irving through gritted teeth.

Albus blinked back tears at the hurtful comment and tried to get up.

"Detention! Tomorrow after lunch, my office," Irving said, recovering himself. "Now, go away, Snivellus."

Albus obeyed, feeling very dizzy. He shakily walked out of the Great Hall. He seemed to be in a trance, barely noticing anything around him. If he had been paying more attention, he might have realized that mostly everyone was regarding him with fear, suspicion, and dislike. The Slytherins, however, looked very impressed at the magical power of their king. This had been the second time that Albus had displayed his powers publicly, and it was more proof that Albus was magically abnormal.

"He did that to Eric Derlwin, too, last year..."

"He's dangerous..."

"Could be like Voldemort..."

"Must be really powerful to use a wandless and nonverbal spell like that..."

"_Was_ that a spell, though...?"

Albus blocked out all the muttering and insults, his head still throbbing. He stumbled through the dungeons, and it was only then that he realized that the Slytherins were looking at him.

"You're a powerful wizard, Potter."

"Cool. How do you do that?"

"Wicked. Was that Dark Magic—can you teach me?"

Albus smiled at them and quickly lied. He told them it was a difficult spell and that he wasn't very good at it. They seemed to think this was a satisfactory answer and left him alone. But it hadn't been a spell. Albus had felt invincible and deadly, and he had purposely shot a bolt a lightning at James, but he didn't know how he had done it.

He, a twelve-year-old boy, had shot _bright_ _green lightning _from his _palm _at his own brother_. _He had made a crater in the ground where James had been standing. Things like that didn't happen, not even the magical world. What was more, the lightning had come from _inside_ him. How had he done that? Was a wizard even capable of that?

With a shudder, Albus remembered that the twelve-year-old boy from his nightmare had done something similar, only with blood-red lightning instead of emerald green. He gulped and nearly became sick.

Feeling extremely tired and ill, Albus dragged himself to his bed and threw himself in it, not caring that it wasn't nighttime yet. He closed his eyes and fell gratefully into his dreams, not knowing that he would be dreaming about a boy from the past very like him.

* * *

A boy was facing a man. They were situated in a dingy, dirty cell. Both were chained to the wall with magic, and neither could move properly.

"I have come to speak to you, Cryptan," said the man. He looked nearly as terrifying as the scarred boy. His face was tinged blue, and his eyes were pure black and cold as a moonless and starless night.

The boy—called Cryptan—looked suspiciously up at the man. "Why would you get yourself thrown in prison to see me?" he asked, not looking away from the man's pitch black eyes.

The man almost shuddered as he examined the boy's ruined face. "I need to give you an offer, Cryptan."

"I'm listening." The boy narrowed his eyes.

"Why have you not broken out of this cell? You can certainly do so," said the man.

The boy threw his head back and laughed in an unsettlingly unhinged way. "Of course I could break out!" he said, once he was finished laughing. "But I will not. It takes much of my energy to use my powers, and I am fine here. There is nothing for me to do but to rot eternally here. I have no purpose."

It was the man's turn to laugh. "No, no, no, my dear boy. You are mistaken. You have no idea what you are capable of, of what your destiny is..."

The boy's ruined eye glowed slightly while his normal one watched the man closely. "What do you claim to know about my destiny?"

The man tried not to shiver as he met the boy's gaze. "There was a prophecy," he said lightly. "A prophecy, spoken many, many years ago. My noble Regiment and I have been searching for the object of this prophecy for a long time, and I have finally found it."

"Me," answered the boy. He looked away, and the man looked relieved. The boy turned back to the man, his normal eye blazing with curiosity, while the other pulsed disgustingly. "Your _Regiment_?"

"A group," explained the man. "It is a Dark society, filled with people who wish to aid you."

The boy was thinking. He did not break his gaze away from the man's. Finally, he spoke. "Aid me in doing what? I have no purpose. I am a monster. That is what my father said." The boy looked down at the ground, and his normal eye looked slightly wet.

"You killed your father," the man reminded the boy. "He was a fool who was afraid of his own son. And rightly so, considering who you are."

"_Who am I_?" asked the boy. He looked almost desperate. "Tell me. I am not human. I am a monster. This, I know."

"True," agreed the man. "But you are much more. You are not human, you are a monster. A ready-made killer. You are created from Dark Magic."

"A ready-made killer. Created from Dark Magic...," the boy echoed sadly. "Yes. That much is clear to me."

"You need a purpose," said the man. "And you have one. It has been written in the stars. Your great destiny."

"A purpose...," said the boy blankly. "What purpose? I want to do nothing."

The man looked furious. "You must find the strength to fight! You must accept your fate! The prophecy spoke of a boy, with darkness' power on his side, who would destroy the world and rebuild it from the ashes! This boy will rule the new world, sowing fear in the hearts of its people, using force and power to aid him."

The boy seemed to consider this. "I have a purpose, then. A purpose to destroy the old one, and rule the new one..."

"You need not worry about being a monster, Cryptan," said the man. "You will need your powers. You will need them to destroy the world. My dark Regiment and I will help you. This world is corrupted, and we want to end it. Join us and lead us. You will have a purpose, Cryptan. You will be glad to be a freak, a monster."

"A purpose...," repeated the boy. He closed his normal eye briefly. When he opened it next, it was glowing as brightly as the ruined one. "Yes. I will have a purpose. I will be a monster. I accept my destiny."

He laughed, and it was a laugh that sent chills down the man's back. How could a boy of barely thirteen be capable of a laugh filled with such evil, anger, and hatred? But the man appreciated it. He and his society needed a ruler not afraid to hurt, to kill, and to destroy. They needed the Paradox, the most powerful wizard in history, the wizard who was a step above wizardkind, the monster who would lead darkness in its quest to cleanse the world.

The boy began to glow blood-red. He transformed, letting his powers loose. He was illuminated by the ghostly, terrible red light for a moment, and then all the magical restraints that held the prisoners were shattered. The bars were broken. No wizard could have broken them, as they were of the most powerful magic. But of course, this boy wasn't a wizard, not really.

The boy and the man were free.


	7. A Ghostly Warning

**-Chapter Seven-**

**A Ghostly Warning**

Albus jerked awake the next morning, his heart pounding so hard that it threatened to jump out of his ribcage. He could remember his dream—or nightmare—unusually clearly. He remembered that terrible, bluish-skinned man with the deadly black eyes. That boy, that boy destined to destroy the world. The boy who was a freak of magic. Inhumane. A monster. And hadn't the man mentioned a 'Regiment'? That unsettled Albus the most.

Then the events of last evening returned to Albus. The full amount of his actions weighed down on his shoulders—the _entire_ school had seen him shoot bright green lightning. They had all seen the momentarily glint of evil in his eyes. They probably thought he was some kind of freakishly powerful wizard.

Albus wondered if Voldemort and Dumbledore had to deal with this sort of persecution—probably. But something told him that their magic wasn't the same as Albus'.

At least some of the Slytherins had thought it had been 'wicked'. Albus, however, would prefer not to draw more attention to himself.

Desperately needing someone to supply him with a sick bucket, Albus dragged himself out of bed. He was clearly late to breakfast, and he didn't want to walk in when everybody else was already seated. He went into the common room. To his relief, Scorpius was sitting in an emerald armchair near the window that depicted the inside of the Black Lake.

"Er—hi," Albus mumbled uncertainly, sitting down next to Scorpius.

"Well, I'd expect a warmer greeting, consider that I'm your best mate," Scorpius replied irritably, though he was smiling.

"What are you still doing here?" Albus asked, relieved that Scorpius wasn't avoiding him.

"Waiting for you, obviously," Scorpius said. "I've got lots to tell you. After you went to bed—really early, might I add—quite a bit happened in the common room."

"Like what?" Albus asked, rubbing his forehead.

Scorpius scowled, and Albus already knew the answer. "Vladimir Rylon, that's what," Scorpius said. "He stood in the center of the common room and said that the Slytherins didn't need a king who would give them a bad name."

Albus seethed with fury. "What did they say to that?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Quite few agreed with him," Scorpius said. "But a lot said that what you did was brilliant and that they wanted you to stay King of Slytherin."

Albus sighed with relief.

"But," Scorpius continued darkly, "Slytherin pretty much split in half."

"WHAT?" Albus thundered. "We can't be divided! Slytherins are supposed to stay together—that's the _point_!We can't fight ourselves if the rest of the school and the rest of the wizarding world are fighting against us!"

"Exactly," Scorpius said. "That's why I tried to kill Rylon, but Oswald, Gerald, and Wyatt pulled me back. They told me that you wouldn't want me to kill him."

"They were right," Albus snarled. "I'd have wanted to kill him myself."

"Can you kill him now?" Scorpius asked hopefully.

Albus shook his head. "I want to find Rose first. She isn't scared of me after what I did, is she?"

"I don't know. She's a Gryffindor—they can be such pansies sometimes," Scorpius pointed out, snickering.

Albus rolled his eyes. The two boys walked out of the dungeons into the Great Hall, very late to breakfast. Fortunately, it was so late that the majority of the school had already vacated it. Albus tried to disappear behind Scorpius, but it didn't work. Scorpius wasn't any taller them him. (Both boys were rather short and skinny.)

To Albus' relief, he spotted Rose sitting at the Gryffindor table, her face very pale. She looked up as the two Slytherins entered, her face brightening. "Al! Scorpius!" she squeaked, running toward them. She hugged Albus tightly, nearly squeezing all the air out of him.

"Why does she only hug you?" Scorpius muttered to Albus.

"Albus! It was scary yesterday—do you know what you did? The whole school's whispering about it—what happened afterwards? I mean, you've done it before—" Rose said, talking a mile a minute.

Albus groaned. Rose usually made him feel better with her optimism, but it was at times like this that she made him feel worse without knowing that she was doing it.

"—but I don't hate you! You're a powerful wizard like Dumbledore—I bet it was just your magic getting out of control—"

Albus felt scandalized. Scorpius kicked Rose, silently telling her that it was time to shut up. Rose turned pink and looked at her shoes.

Albus was quite a bit uneasy. His magic hadn't gotten out of control at all—he had meant to attack James, and he didn't regret it.

There was silence for a few seconds as the three second years shared meaningful looks.

Finally, Albus spoke. "What's the school saying about me?"

Rose looked as if she didn't want to answer, and there was no need for her to. Albus already knew what the school thought about him.

The trio walked to the library, deciding to change the subject to Quidditch. People shied away from him, not even daring to smile at Rose and sneer at Scorpius and Albus like they usually did. Albus thought it was a rather nice change, actually, but it still felt odd and unnatural.

"Wait a moment, have you seen Elina?" Rose asked suddenly, stopping outside of the library.

Albus blushed. He berated himself for going red every time she was mentioned—how hopeless could he get? "N-No, I haven't."

Rose grinned while Scorpius smirked at Albus' dreamy expression.

"Well, I need to find her. I need her to help me in Charms, since she's good at it," Rose continued.

"I'm better!" Scorpius said indignantly.

Rose gave him a nasty look. "Oh, I'm sorry—I meant she's the best at _not shoving it in my face._"

Scorpius did not look ashamed. "Admit it, you're jealous."

"Am not!" Rose snarled.

"Are too! I beat you in every single exam!" Scorpius said gleefully.

"So? I never wanted to beat you!" Rose snapped, her face heating up.

"Yes, you did!" Scorpius protested.

Albus decided it was time to intervene—he didn't want his two best friends to strangle each other. "Can we find Elina, please?"

Rose and Scorpius finally shut up, both of their faces very pink.

"Let's go up another floor," Rose suggested. "Hopefully, we'll find her there. She just finished breakfast a few minutes before you two came."

The three of them ran up a flight of stairs, Rose and Scorpius arguing with each other on the way up. Albus desperately wanted to tell them that they bickered worse than Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, but he didn't want to fuel another fight.

"What happened here?" Albus wondered out loud as they stepped on to the second floor landing. It was completely flooded.

"Oh, no," Rose sighed. "I bet I know what it was..."

"The bathroom?" Scorpius suggested, walking over to the source of all the water. It was leaking out of the out-of-order girls' lavatory that nobody ever dared to enter.

"Why is it so wet?" Albus said.

Rose shrugged. "I think we should go inside. Moaning Myrtle probably made this mess."

"Come again?" Scorpius asked.

"Moaning Myrtle," Rose repeated. "She's the ghost that haunts this bathroom. She always makes the biggest deal out of everything. One time, I told her that she had an awful blemish on her cheek, and she exploded at me because she was dead and couldn't get rid of it."

"Myrtle sounds charming," Scorpius said. "Okay, Elina's not here. Can we go back to the library now?"

Rose ignored him and opened the door. Albus and Scorpius hesitated, but she pulled them in against their will.

If possible, it was even more flooded in the lavatory than it was outside. The water was up to the second years' shins, and Albus seriously regretted coming inside. A pitiful howling noise echoed around the bathroom, causing Albus and Scorpius to jump and splatter water everywhere. A toilet was mysteriously flushed of its own accord, and a bespectacled girl rose out of a cubicle, transparent tears staining her cheeks.

"W-What do y-you want?" she asked, sniffling. "Come to tease me about my blemishes again?"

"Um—I wouldn't mind," Rose said loudly, giving Myrtle a dirty look. Myrtle returned the glare and then let out a piteous moan.

Albus and Scorpius winced. Moaning Myrtle seemed to notice them, and her dull eyes brightened considerably. She giggled and flew around them, confusing the two boys.

"Ooh! You two look familiar!" she said, batting her eyelashes. "I remember your fathers. Oh, I do miss them."

"She scares me, Al," Scorpius whispered. Albus nodded in agreement.

Rose looked very annoyed. "Okay, I came in here to ask you a question. Why were you throwing a tantrum? You flooded the bloody corridor!"

Myrtle gave Rose a very ugly look. "Maybe it was because someone teased me about my pimples!"

"Oh, don't humor me," Rose snapped. "What happened?"

"Oh, a few girls came in to make m-me miserable yesterday!" Myrtle wailed, rubbing her eyes. "Even a-after all these y-years, everyone s-still finds it f-fun to insult m-me!" She burst into tears and floated around.

Albus and Scorpius were both extremely bemused, but Rose simply looked bored.

Myrtle continued, wiping her nose. Rose, Albus, and Scorpius cringed. Myrtle looked close to smiling. It was a rather terrifying sight. She did a couple of backflips in the air, letting out a loud sob. Albus was very tired of her already.

"It's rather lonely here," Myrtle said quietly, sniffling. "But I do sometimes hear some interesting things. We ghosts can sense things. I can sense that darkness has returned to Hogwarts, worse than ever before."

"_What?"_ Rose spluttered. "What nonsense!"

"Tell us more," Albus demanded. "What makes you think that?"

"Oh, I can't really say," Myrtle cried, blinking tears out of her eyes. Albus had a feeling that she was acting. "B-But there m-might be _deaths_ at Hogwarts this year," Myrtle finished dramatically.

"Give me a break," Rose hissed.

"She's insane," Scorpius whispered back.

"You're making fun of me!" Myrtle screamed. She looked at Scorpius as if she couldn't believe it, though she gave Rose a very nasty glare. "Everyone always t-teased m-me, and n-now they s-still love t-to torture m-me in m-my d-death!"

"Ooh, Moaning Myrtle," Rose said, smirking and pointing at Myrtle's face, "you've got a blemish on your face!"

"I c-can't g-get r-rid of it!" sobbed Myrtle. "B-Because I'm d-d—"

"Dead?" Scorpius suggested unhelpfully.

She let out a wail of anguish and dove back into her toilet, splashing water on the three second years.

"Really?" Albus said. "You had to say that? She could have told us something more about the whole 'darkness returned to Hogwarts' thing."

"Oh, shut up," Rose said. "She makes me sick. She always overdramatizes everything. She's probably lying to scare us."

Scorpius nodded in agreement, though Albus wasn't so sure. They returned to the library, their robes wet.

"I'm going to make Elina do my Charms essay for this," Rose grumbled, squeezing water out of her cloak. As an afterthought, she added, "Al, can _you_ help me in Charms?"

Albus nodded while Scorpius looked put out. They found an unoccupied table and took out their parchment. Their Charms essay wasn't difficult at all—Professor Moore wasn't the kind of teacher to give loads of homework.

A few minutes after the trio started working in silence, a rowdy group of students entered the library, disrupting the peace. Scorpius and Albus looked up angrily, though Rose let out a squeal of glee. "James, Eric! Oh, there you are, Elina!"

It was indeed James, Derlwin, and the rest of their thugs. Albus noted that Louis and Fred were also among this group. A few girls, including Roxanne, Dominque, and Elina, were also with the boys. All in all, it was the Hogwarts elite—the crowd that Rose was a key part of.

Albus and Scorpius sunk into their chairs while the popular students gave them nasty looks. Albus was glad to see that Elina did not scowl. Instead, she smiled widely at him.

"What are you doing with the _freaks_?" James asked Rose, gesturing primarily toward Albus, who gasped and blinked back tears.

"They're my friends," Rose replied steadily. The popular students gave her a shocked look, as if she had somehow betrayed them.

Elina walked forward to support her best friend. "They're my friends, too. Anything else to say, James?" she asked, silently daring him to insult the two Slytherins.

James did not. He turned faintly pink, which completely shocked Albus. James wasn't the type of person to ever get embarrassed. Elina turned pink, too. The popular students giggled, and so did Rose. Albus wasn't amused at all, however, and all the color left his face.

"Come on, Elina, Rose," James said, the blush finally disappearing. "We're going to play with the Giant Squid. It's drizzling, but it's it's not pouring for the first time in days."

"Or, rather, you're going to _torture_ the squid," Albus said nastily. "Or Slytherins. Or innocent first years."

The popular students, including Rose and Elina, glared at him, though Scorpius snickered appreciatively.

"We aren't going to do anything like that!" Elina protested. "I wouldn't let them—"

James interrupted her. "We're not doing that," James said to Elina. "We _never_ tease anyone, right?"

Albus and Scorpius gritted their teeth while the popular students laughed and nodded with mock seriousness. Elina did not look fooled, but the disapproving look on her face vanished when James put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

Albus let out a growl while everyone wolf-whistled. Even Rose joined in the playful teasing—until Albus kicked her. He felt dizzy, though not in the good way.

"So, Rose, are you coming or not?" Derlwin demanded, sounding obnoxious as usual. Albus was too busy staring at the closeness between Elina and James to register Derlwin's words.

"Oh, um, all right," Rose sighed, putting her books away. Scorpius looked utterly horrified as she went to join Derlwin, who Scorpius was jealous of in the same way that Albus was jealous of James.

"No way!" Scorpius spat at her. "You're abandoning us?"

Rose looked extremely guilty and opened her mouth to speak, but Derlwin beat her to it. "Yeah, you heard right. There's no way she'd choose you two _nerds_ over _us_," Derlwin sneered, and the other popular students laughed and made faces at Albus and Scorpius.

"Stop that! It's not nice!" Elina snapped, jerking away from James and glaring at Derlwin and her other Gryffindor friends.

"Whatever, Elina," Rose muttered. Both Elina and Rose looked as if they wanted to say something to the two Slytherins, but Derlwin put his hand around Rose and James put his hand around Elina, and the two Gryffindor girls weren't able to apologize.

As the popular crowd left the library, James and Derlwin turned around to give Albus and Scorpius a warning glare that seemed to say: _Stay away from our girls. _The two Slytherin boys replied with defiant looks, but both of them knew that there was no hope.

"This is just great," Scorpius groaned once the library was quiet again. "Rose and Elina abandoned us—I'm going to _kill_ Derlwin!"

"And James," Albus added.

For the next few hours leading up to lunch, Albus and Scorpius moped around thinking about the girls of their affections. Just before lunch, Scorpius voiced their thoughts.

"Do you think we have a chance?" Scorpius asked hopefully.

"No," Albus answered gloomily. "Look at _them,_ and then look at _us._"

"Yeah, I know. But we can still get them to like us back," Scorpius said.

Albus gave him a nasty look, unable to believe that Scorpius didn't get it. "Do I have to _spell_ it out? James is the most handsome, most popular, and funniest boy in the entire school and probably the wizarding world, (He appears on the front cover of Witch Weekly every other day!) not to mention that he's a genius with pranking and dueling. Derlwin—well—he's supposedly good-looking and funny, too. And he's strong.

"Look at us, then. We're scrawny, nerdy, and just _weird._ If I take off my glasses, I'll run into the wall. You look like a vampire—"

"Thanks," Scorpius muttered sarcastically.

"—and we're probably the two most hated boys the the school, not counting Slytherin. You, because you're a Malfoy. Me? I'm the traitorous Potter that's a disgrace to his family. I'm an outcast and I'm a _freak_—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Scorpius interrupted. "We're the losers of the school. But you forgot about Slytherin. You're the King of Slytherin. That should count."

Albus sighed heavily. "I guess it does... but what's the point? Slytherin has split, thanks to Rylon." Albus stopped talking, and determination shone in his eyes. "I just remembered! I need to go stop Rylon and bring Slytherin back together," he said.

"Well," Scorpius said sarcastically, "I see that the 'King' part of you is back. I thought it had gotten lost somewhere in your depressed brain."

Albus glared at him and, quite suddenly, the two boys burst out laughing, now determined to defeat Rylon at his own game and take over the whole of Slytherin again. Hopefully, they'd be able to show up James, Derlwin, and the rest of Hogwarts and the wizarding world along the way.

* * *

"Rylon doesn't even care that much about Slytherin," Albus said heatedly as they walked to the Slytherin table for lunch. "He just wants to be King for the power!"

Scorpius nodded in agreement. "Exactly. He's going to destroy Slytherin, and Slytherin isn't exactly doing well since the whole wizarding world is determined to eliminate it."

"He's telling them that I'm a freak and I can ruin Slytherin's name even more by being its King," Albus snarled. "If he can play dirty, then _I_ can, too."

"You've got a plan, haven't you?" asked Scorpius, an evil grin breaking out on his face.

Albus smirked. "I do, and I'm going to put it into action."

They sat down at the Slytherin table. The split was very obvious. Rylon was sitting at one head of the table, and Albus sat down at the other one. They glared at each other hatefully, too busy making threatening looks and gestures to eat properly.

Oswald Nesbitt, Gerald Erwett, and Wyatt Hemley and the most of the Quidditch team were firmly on Albus' side, as were many of the younger students. Not to say that there weren't any older students on Albus' side—several seventh and sixth years informed him that they thought that he was the one who should lead, considering that he had bought Slytherin glory last year after uncountable years of it being the hated and losing House.

Rylon, however, had a formidable army as well. It was just as large as Albus', if not bigger. He had many of the older students on his side, which was clearly a huge plus.

The professors and the other Houses seemed to notice that the air around Slytherin House was especially poisonous today. Oswald had gotten into a hissed argument with a troll-like Slytherin on Rylon's side, and Gerald was sneering at a hard-faced first-year girl who was on the other side of the split. When Slytherins fought amongst themselves, it wasn't usually physical or magical. It was carried out in the form of snide insults, backstabbing, and blackmailing. And Albus had a feeling that he was capable of doing those things perfectly.

Albus finally saw the dark side of Slytherin, the side that every other House saw and judged them on. Finally, lunch finished and the Slytherins left the table, a storm cloud still above them.

He was halfway to the dungeons when he remembered that he had a detention with Irving. He waved good-bye to Scorpius and sprinted to Irving's office, knowing that he was late.

"I see that Slytherins such as you are incapable of actually being on time," snarled Irving as Albus entered the office, panting and wheezing.

"Sorry, _sir_," Albus hissed, narrowing his eyes. He clutched his wand tightly, silently daring Irving to respond. He was too preoccupied with the Slytherins to care that Irving's dangerous, ice-blue eyes flashed murderously. Albus met them coldly and let out a gasp of pain.

He felt as if his insides were being burned and then frozen, and his head threatened to split. He focused all his energy into repelling the pain and did not break away from Irving's icy gaze. To Albus' shock, Irving winced and stepped back.

Had Albus somehow turned Irving's pain-inflicting powers against him?

"ENOUGH!" Irving thundered, looking a bit dazed.

Albus smirked. His victory was short-lived, however. Irving whipped out his wand and blasted Albus into the wall.

"Don't you dare," Irving growled. His eyes sparked hatefully and he whispered, "_Monster_."

Albus, shaken, stumbled back to his feet, his momentary courage and defiance disappearing. "W-What should I do for the detention?" he asked quietly, thinking about what Irving had called him.

"I need you to sort some files of mine," Irving said, gesturing to the shelf nearby his desk which featured filing cabinets and a stack of parchment nearby.

Albus nodded nervously and began sorting the parchment into their respective spots in the filing cabinets. The hours passed unbearably slowly, and the sun sunk into the hills. Albus continued sorting, his brain filled with plans on how to destroy Vladimir Rylon and bring Slytherin back together. Every now and then, depressing thoughts about being a monster and a freak returned to him, and he had the urge to either burst into tears or scream in frustration.

Then Albus heard a voice coming out of nowhere. The voice seemed as if it was a combination of many things speaking together. It was a hair-raising, mind-numbing, heart-stopping kind of noise, and it seemed to vibrate through the room and the rest of the school.

"_We have been released. We have awoken along with our master, and we know our mission..."_

Albus jumped in his seat, catching Irving's attention.

"_We come for our Prey, and we will hunt him down. We wait in the very shadows, waiting to strike, waiting to kill..."_

Albus' heart was beating frantically—he felt very ill all of a sudden, and his head was throbbing. Who did the voice belong to? It had seemed inhumane and terrifying, and it had been uncountable voices mixed together.

"D-Did you h-hear that?" Albus asked Irving.

"What?" Irving gasped, looking worried. "Did you hear something? _Answer me now, Potter!" _

"No! I m-mean, it was n-nothing. I w-was just talking to myself," Albus said quickly, not wanting to trust Irving. "I'm done. Can I go now?"

Irving's expression was unfathomable. "Very well, Snivellus," Irving hissed. "Get out of my sight!"

Albus did so gladly, nearly tripping in his haste to leave Irving's office. The voice that he had heard repeated itself in his mind, taking over his thoughts: _We wait in the very shadows, waiting to strike, waiting to kill..._

Albus ran back all the way to the dungeons, wondering whether or not to tell Scorpius and Rose about the voice he had heard. _No. I don't want to be even _more_ of a freak. I'm going to pretend that this never happened, _he decided.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****Anyways, I put this author's note in to say that I drew a picture (all by myself- I like to draw in my free time, too) and put it on my profile. It's currently my avatar. It has pictures of the seven main characters in my story. I just wanted to tell you all that, in case you were interested in seeing exactly how the characters looked like.**


	8. Dueling, Doxies, & Dreams

**-Chapter Eight-**

**Dueling, Doxies, & Dreams**

The month went on, and September was drawing to a close. It was still raining constantly, though now the rain was accompanied by knife-sharp winds. Hogwarts couldn't have been any gloomier. The Dueling Program continued, and Quidditch season began.

"It's going to be a difficult first practice," Hemley said bracingly as he and his team dragged themselves through the muck and rain.

"Can we just get out of it?" Edward Mylens, a Chaser, asked.

Hemley turned on him, looking furious. "NO! Do you _want_ Gryffindor to win? We should have won last year, but..." Hemley looked at Albus.

Albus looked guiltily at his feet. He had been unconscious in the Hospital Wing last year, which had caused him to miss the last match of the year. Slytherin had to play Hufflepuff one player short, causing them to suffer their worst defeat in several years.

Hemley continued talking, "Even so, I think that we have the best team yet!"

The seven Slytherin Quidditch players cheered. However, their momentary happiness was ruined when they saw a red-and-gold-clad group through the rain.

"What?" Hemley shouted, picking up his pace. "What are the Gryffindors doing here? I booked the pitch!"

Olivia Wood, the Gryffindor captain, walked forward, looking rather smug. The sixth-year girl was pretty, but she held herself in a way that suggested that she was better than everyone else. In fact, all of the Gryffindors' heads seemed inflated.

"Hello, Hemley," she said nastily, flashing her white teeth at him. "It's supposed to be Gryffindor's pitch today."

Hemley smirked at her. They regarded each other like cats waiting to pounce. "Oh, but I think you're wrong there, Wood. I believe that I booked the pitch ahead of time."

Olivia batted her eyelashes, though there was a definite coldness in her eyes. "I think it's adorable that you care so much about winning. I'm sorry I'll have to break your _heart,"_ she crooned, winking at him.

Hemley wasn't fooled. "Good try, Wood. Get out of here," he snarled at her, dropping his polite act.

Olivia pouted and pretended to look hurt. "I'm sorry, but I absolutely can't. Irving let us have the pitch for today, and since he's a professor, I think his word counts more than yours."

Hemley looked as if he couldn't decide whether to strangle her or snog her. Instead, he balled up his fists and hissed, "You'll pay for this, Wood."

Olivia played with her golden hair innocently, still shamelessly flirting with him. "But we can always share, can't we?"

"Yeah, Snivellus," spoke up James. "Ever heard of sharing? Do selfish Slytherins like you even know how to do that?"

Albus glared at his brother hatefully, wishing that he had brought his wand. The two Seekers, one a Gryffindor and the other a Slytherin, faced each other. James made rude and violent gestures while Albus scowled back, thinking about getting gory revenge.

"This is an outrage!" Hemley snarled. "I'm going to speak with Professor Heartley—he's the new Head of Slytherin house—"

Olivia let out a giggly laugh. "Oh, _Wyatt, _you amuse me. Heartley? Like anyone's going to believe his stupid words."

"Perhaps we should go leave, Wyatt," said Patty Parkinson, glaring jealously at the pretty Gryffindor girl. She clearly didn't like Olivia flirting with Hemley.

"Yeah, go back, _loser_," James sneered. "You won't win!"

"I won last year, remember?" Albus retorted, taking a step toward James.

"That was just a little mistake," James snarled. "And you tricked me. You're a cheater and a liar, and you're _not_ a hero! You're nothing but a _freak_ who's just hiding the fact that he's atraitor_!"_

Albus stepped backward, stung. His hands shook with fury, and he wished that he could just attack James right there and then. He had always thought that muggle dueling looked more satisfying than wizard dueling, but Albus knew that he would be creamed in a fight with his stronger brother, so he stayed where he was.

"Come on, Wyatt!" said a black girl called Blaire Zabini, another Chaser. "Let's leave!"

Hemley gave Olivia one last murderous glare before stalking off, the rest of the Slytherin team following him. Albus turned around to give James a look full of loathing, which James happily returned. Albus once again felt the desperate desire to prove himself better than his brother. He wanted to prove it to Elina, the rest of the family, and his father most of all.

* * *

"I don't think you're a freak at all," Elina assured Albus in the library a few days after the failed Quidditch practice session.

Albus sighed with relief. "Thanks. I m-mean, it was an accident..." Albus trailed off, not exactly believing his words. He had wanted to hurt James, and at that moment, he had felt in control and completely evil.

Elina, however, seemed to have a different theory. "I think that it was just an underage magic issue. Supposedly, wizards' underage magic might get out of control even when they're at Hogwarts. But yours looked really powerful, though."

Albus nodded. "Yeah, my dad told me I was a bit powerful. I really don't t-think I'm that different from other wizards, right?" He was glad to use the excuse, even though he knew he was lying.

Elina smiled at him. "Of course you aren't. You're mainly normal. You need to have more confidence in yourself, Al."

Albus stared into her very pretty, blue-violet eyes. He had the urge to do something daring. "W-Want to g-go outside?" he stuttered. "It's n-not raining so m-much now."

Elina did not seem to think that the request was odd. "I think that's a lovely idea," she said, grinning. "I've been cooped up inside this castle for ages."

With those words, she grabbed him around the arm and dragged him out of the library, her long light brown hair flowing behind her. Albus stumbled after her, feeling dizzy and uncoordinated.

They went outside the school, unsurprised to see that many students were also milling around the lake, trying to ignore the light droplets of water. The weather had been exceptionally cruel the last month, and it the relentless rain had given the Hogwarts students little chance to get some fresh air. Albus couldn't remember the last time he had seen the sun.

"Let's go near Hagrid's hut," Elina suggested. "I don't want to be near the crowd. It's kind of annoying how everyone pays attention to me. I think James is really the only one who can stand people bowing to him."

Albus scowled, his thoughts on James. Fortunately, Elina grabbed him again and led him to the pumpkin patch near Hagrid's hut, where it was deserted.

Feeling very self-conscious, Albus tried to smooth down his untidy hair, but failed. Elina didn't seem to mind. She sat down on one of the larger pumpkins, using it as a seat. Albus, unsure what to do, simply stood standing up, his cheeks flushed.

"Well, what are you standing there for?" Elina asked, giggling. She pulled him down to sit beside her, and he turned redder than ever before.

He stared at her almost hungrily, and his feelings for her hit him with full force. She was so nice to him, and she was the only girl (besides Rose) who didn't think he was a freak or a traitor. He wondered if she felt the same way toward him, but knew it was utterly hopeless. If she liked anyone, it was James. Albus once again felt a rush of jealousy toward his perfect brother.

As Albus gazed at her dreamily, he noticed that she was wearing a round, golden locket. It looked heavy, as if it had something inside it. Not wanting to pry, Albus kept quiet.

"I hate Heartley's Potions class," Elina said. "I mean, what was Headmaster Triton thinking, hiring an idiot like that?"

Albus nodded, and he felt a bit more confident. "He doesn't even teach Potions at all. The only thing he talks about is acting, and he doesn't teach us how to do that!" Albus said heatedly, not noticing that he wasn't stuttering.

"I know. Ugh. I want to complain to the Ministry of Magic," Elina said, sighing.

With her words, their pitiful conversation ended. Albus was too embarrassed to start a new one, so he contented himself with staring at his shoes.

"You know," Elina began, a bit nervously, "how do you always manage to be so smart all the time?"

Albus, taken by surprise, gaped at her. "Um—er—wha-what?" he stammered.

Elina giggled. "Come on, Al, don't be modest. You're brilliant. A genius, I think."

Albus was finding it difficult to breathe. His face felt unnaturally warm. "Uh..."

Then Elina sighed and looked at the ground. "Everything's so easy for you. Not for me, though."

"W-What do you m-mean?" Albus asked, finally gaining control of his voice.

"Al, don't act like that," Elina said sadly. "I'm about as smart as a gnome. No matter how hard I try, I can't just understand some things. It's so unfair how everyone is so smart without trying, like you, Scorpius, James, and even Rose. And there's me, who can't grasp any subject. School isn't that fun when you're just not good at anything."

"That's rubbish," Albus said firmly, the stutter disappearing from his voice. "You're good at plenty of things. Charms, and all that—"

"No, no, no!" Elina protested. "I'm not. I'm barely passing everything, even though I try so hard. I'm not good at studies or magic in general, Al. And you're amazing at everything. I mean, I'm happy for you, but it's so frustrating..."

Albus shook his head. "No, Elina." He wasn't stuttering, and his voice was filled with conviction. He looked deep into Elina's blue-violet eyes. "It doesn't matter if you're not that good at learning. You're still amazing. You're kind and a great friend. You've stood up for me about a hundred times. You're better."

Elina flushed pink. "Al—you're not stuttering... you really mean it, don't you?"

Albus blushed so much that he nearly turned purple and started to stammer again. "Uh—yeah—of course I-I d-do!"

Elina grabbed his hand and scooted closer to him on the pumpkin. He noticed that they were so close that they were touching. His face aflame, Albus realized that he was about an inch shorter than her and recalled that James was about a foot taller. He also realized that he was scrawny, his glasses were lopsided, and he was slumping.

Elina grinned mischievously, took his hand, and put it around her. "It's much more comfortable this way, don't you think?"

_Is she flirting with me? _Albus thought, his heart leaping in his chest. He turned beet-red and saw that she was a grand total of three inches away from him. His heart was screaming at him to close the distance between them, but his brain was ordering him to stutter some more. Before Albus could decide what to do, however, Elina spoke.

"What's that?" she said suddenly. Albus looked up and gaped at the thing in front of him for a second, unable to believe his eyes. An ash-colored warthog was thundering its way toward them. How could it have just appeared out of nowhere? To his shock, it was there one second and wasn't there the other.

"What happened?" Albus asked, confused. "Where did it go?"

Elina let out a shriek as something invisible hit her, throwing her over the pumpkin she was sitting on.

"Elina!" Albus yelled, leaning over the large pumpkin to see what had happened. He felt something hit him hard in the chest, momentarily stunning him.

"What is it?" she yelped as the grayish warthog reappeared.

"Slow it down!" Albus shouted, pulling out his wand from his pocket.

Elina jumped out from behind the pumpkin and ran toward Albus. "That thing's dangerous!" she gasped. "We have to get help!"

"_Impedimenta!"_ Albus said, pointing his wand at the warthog. It turned invisible again, causing Albus' aim to go askew. The spell hit a pumpkin and had no effect.

Albus suddenly felt as if a hammer had pounded him in the ribcage. The pig, or whatever it was, had jumped straight at him.

"Are you okay?" Elina asked.

"Gah—" Albus choked out, barely able to breathe. He finally got control of himself. "Go get Hagrid, quickly!"

Elina shook her head. "I don't want to leave you! We'll go get him together!" she insisted.

"No!" Albus said. "If we both go, we might not be able to find it again! It's turning invisible and back every few seconds, anyways!"

Elina bit her lip, but finally agreed to run over to Hagrid's hut.

At that moment, Albus felt something collide with his shins painfully. He groaned and sunk to the ground. As he did so, the demonic warthog appeared again, this time to his left. Furious, Albus struggled to his feet again and pointed his wand at it.

"That's _it_," he said to the ash-colored warthog.

Albus knew that he was a powerful wizard. Well, now was the time to use his magic. Perhaps he could channel his inner magic through his wand and make it more powerful than any spell. He glared at the creature and concentrated as hard as he could.

A bolt of bright green lightning started from his shoulder, snaking around his arm. It didn't hurt him at all, and Albus felt no fear as he continued pointing at the warthog, feeling the familiar dark sensation take over him. The emerald-colored lightning twisted its way toward his hand, causing the symbols on his wand to light up.

Albus was illuminated bright green for a split second, and a bolt of dangerous green lightning shot from the tip of his wand, hitting the currently visible warthog. The creature glowed for a moment, its beady eyes widening with shock, barely comprehending what had happened.

It dropped to the ground, dead.

Albus smirked, gloating in his victory. He certainly was a powerful wizard, and it finally seemed like he was getting better at using his inner magic—or whatever it was. Then he sunk to the ground, greatly weakened. His head was spinning, and he felt as if all his energy had been sucked out. What was happening...?

"Wha' happened?" Hagrid bellowed, lumbering his way toward Albus and the dead warthog.

"It's okay, Hagrid," Albus wheezed, standing up. He was still weak, but the fatigue wasn't so bad now. "I dealt with it."

"Blimey, tha's a difficul' thing to kill, Al. Yer shouldn't have killed it, though," Hagrid said, sounding mournful at its death. "How did yer do it?"

Elina, however, looked even more anguished. She looked at Albus as if she couldn't believe him. "You killed it!" she wailed, sinking to the ground beside it.

Albus, completely confused, said, "W-What do you mean? Of course I killed it."

"Why?" she asked, blinking tears out of her eyes.

Albus stared at her, shocked. What had he done to her upset her?

"That's a living thing!" Elina screeched. "It's a living creature with a heart and feelings!"

"I-It was t-trying to kill us!" Albus muttered, trying to defend himself.

"You can't kill living animals!" she yelled at him. "It might have had a family! We could have helped it!"

Albus briefly wondered if Elina had gone insane. Why did she care so much about living creatures?

"Calm down, Elina," Hagrid said. "Al was jus' doin' the bes' thing he could, an' he did well, he did. Shame it died, though. There's somethin' odd abou' it, though. A second year shouldn't be able ter kill a Tebo."

"S-Sorry," Albus said to Elina hopelessly, not paying attention to Hagrid.

Elina wasn't going to forgive him that easily. "You killed it!" she repeated, looking as if she could not comprehend such a fact. "You didn't care about its life at all. You were glad that it was dead, I bet." She shot him a look of disgust.

Albus gaped at her, not knowing what had caused her sudden change of mood. He resolved not to poke even an ant in Elina's presence again.

"Uh—I'm really sorry, Elina," Albus said, sighing. "I won't do it again. I won't kill anything again."

He wondered if he would keep that promise. He had rather liked watching the warthog's death. He had relished seeing the look on horror on its face before the life disappeared from its eyes... Albus gulped and shook his head to clear it. What was he thinking?

"Promise?" Elina asked, tears streaming down her face. She stroked the warthog, and some of her tears fell on its ash-colored pelt.

Albus nodded, desperately wishing that she would forgive him.

"Tha's a _Tebo_," Hagrid said wisely. "It ain't found in this area, so I dunno wha' it's doin' at Hogwarts."

"That's weird," Albus said. "There was that Chizpurfle issue during Potions class, and Rose, Scorpius, and I saw a Pogrebin that same day."

Hagrid pulled the Tebo away from a reluctant Elina and swung it over his shoulder. "Shame 'bout the death," he grunted, in an effort to be kind to Elina. "I'll make a funeral."

Elina sighed deeply. "Oh... I hate it so much when living things get hurt. Too many of them do. I wish I could do something to protect them..."

* * *

The beginning of October brought the final dueling lesson before the House Dueling Teams would be chosen. The school was filled with anticipation during the week leading up to the Saturday of the last lesson, but no one was more anxious for it than Albus and Rylon.

The two of them had often dueled against each other in the previous dueling lessons, and Rylon had won every single time, though Albus had put up a good fight and had come close. James had also done extremely well in these lessons, and it was rumored that he would be picked as the Gryffindor Dueling Captain, even though he was only a third year.

To Albus' dismay, it was likely that Rylon would be chosen as the Slytherin Dueling Captain, and the professors had been doting on him ever since the first dueling lesson. Albus had been complimented, too, for possibly being the most talented second year to ever attend Hogwarts, but all the praise would mean nothing if he wasn't picked as Captain.

Scorpius was also a favorite, which was no surprise. Both Albus and Scorpius were considered magical prodigies, and everyone knew they were both shoo-ins for the Slytherin Dueling Team. The only question was who would become Captain.

Finally, the day of the final Dueling Lesson arrived. The weather was bleaker than usual. A rainstorm that resembled a hurricane was tearing apart the grounds, which caused many students to barricade themselves in the library the Saturday morning before the lesson. Peeves was unhelpfully swooping around the place and terrorizing the first years.

Albus slowly worked through his Transfiguration essay. When it came to the practical part of lessons, Albus and Scorpius were geniuses, but they were a bit rusty at putting their talent into writing. Rose was the one who could recount nearly every piece of information that she had read or heard, though she wasn't always the most brilliant at magic.

"How are you supposed to tell how to change a matchbox into an ash tray?" Scorpius demanded. "I already did it five times, but, really, how can you explain that?"

"You have to jab your wand and swish it to the right," Rose said grumpily. "Don't know what you're asking me for. I couldn't even make the bloody matchbox dusty."

Scorpius snickered obnoxiously, making Rose hit him with her heavy Transfiguration textbook.

"I-I can help," Albus offered shyly, closing his Transfiguration textbook and chucking it back into his book bag. He decided to procrastinate and finish the essay tomorrow. He always got self-conscious whenever he talked about how good he was at magic.

At that moment, however, Peeves emptied an ink bottle on Albus' head, making his hair even darker, if that was possible.

"There you go, Mr. Potter," Peeves said. Albus raised an eyebrow, confused. Peeves usually didn't respect him enough to call him 'Mr. Potter.'

As it turned out, it wasn't Albus that Peeves was talking to.

"Mr. Potter," Peeves repeated, speaking to _James, _who was smugly standing behind Albus, "do you want me to take out my spitballs and use them on Mal-fail?"

"Gladly," said James, who was apparently in league with Peeves. Peeves bowed and turned back to the Slytherins, a malicious grin on his face.

"James!" Rose said angrily. "I said that I don't want to use Peeves to prank Al and Scorpius! They're my friends—they're off limits."

"So," Albus said furiously, "you help him prank other Slytherins, don't you?"

Rose looked guilty. "Yes, but—but—"

Albus and Scorpius glared at her, but James looked merely amused. "Oh, please, Rose isn't friends with you. She just tolerates you two nerds because she's spying for me," James sneered, grabbing Rose's wrist.

"It's not like that!" Rose snapped, kicking James.

A few more thugs appeared out of nowhere on James' side, and things weren't looking good for the two Slytherins. Even worse, Eric Derlwin was one of the thugs. He took Rose's arm protectively, causing Scorpius to seethe.

James looked annoyed at Rose. "Well, I have to ask you, whose side are you on? I was under the impression that you're a lion, not a snake."

"I'm a Gryffindor!" Rose insisted.

"Then, don't hang around them!" Derlwin said to her, glaring at Scorpius with undisguised venom. Scorpius glared back, looking even angrier than Derlwin did.

"Why?" Rose said. "I know the Slytherins are gits, but these two aren't—"

"What did you say?" Albus asked her dangerously.

"It's really pathetic when you try to defend Slytherin," James said, mocking seriousness. "There's no good reason to."

He'd had enough. Albus whipped out his wand and pointed it at James, while Scorpius took out his and aimed it at Derlwin. Peeves cackled, floating a few feet above their heads, clearly enjoying the argument.

"Let's just go, James, Eric," Rose said hurriedly, clearly wanting to avoid a confrontation between her Slytherin and Gryffindor friends. She dragged them away, giving Albus and Scorpius an apologetic look.

"I'm going to kill Derlwin!" snarled Scorpius. "It's his and James' fault that she's joined the _dark_ side!"

Albus sighed. "We should be careful when we discuss things around her," he said firmly. "Remember not to reveal any of Slytherin's weaknesses."

"We've got a lot of those right know, being split into two and all," Scorpius grumbled.

Albus and Scorpius sat at their table in the library, thinking about Rose's betrayal. There was something else on Albus' mind, however.

He steeled himself. He had wanted to ask Scorpius this question for a very long time. "Scorpius?" Albus said uncertainly.

"What?" Scorpius said. He had been absentmindedly scribbling pictures of Derlwin getting his head cut off.

"Have you ever felt that your magic was really powerful when you were young?" Albus asked, his heart beating frantically.

Scorpius looked up, shocked. "Well, sure. I mean, Father said that I was pretty powerful. When Grandfather came to visit from Azkaban a few years back, he said that I had the potential to be as powerful as the Dark Lord. I started crying. It was an insult, really."

"Oh," Albus said, quite relieved. "What was your underage magic like?"

Scorpius looked confused. "Well, I had lots of control over it. I made small animals do strange things. I dropped a galleon in a pond once, and I made a fish get it for me. Don't ask, it's a long story. But what's the point of these questions?"

"Nothing," Albus said. He was immensely relieved that Scorpius was the same. "I was just curious. I have lots of control over my underage magic, too."

"Well, that's not surprising," Scorpius said, shrugging. "I looked up the whole powerful-young-wizards subject after Grandfather told me. According to this book, wizards with a gift with magic can just control it better. But it's not really much different from what normal wizards do. I mean, I had my basic underage magic accidents, too."

"Did you ever... explode something really big?" Albus asked.

Scorpius stared at him. "No. I levitated Mother's plates and dropped them because I was angry at her when I was seven, but I've never really exploded anything. That's weird. Really weird."

Albus' heart sank. Perhaps Scorpius wasn't so much like him after all. "Have you—have you—glowed green?" Albus asked. "Really brightly?"

Scorpius looked at him as if he was insane. "No way. You did, though. On Halloween and the week before Christmas. You used a bright green shield or something to protect me and Rose from that Guardian Spirit, and you attacked Derlwin. I've never done anything like that."

Albus slumped in his seat. "Oh," he said stupidly, unable to say anything else. That dashed whatever hopes he had about being a 'normal' powerful wizard. He was different on that level, too.

"I've been wondering about that for a long time," Scorpius said. "The whole bright-green-glowing thing that you do a lot. It's, well, _brilliant._ What spell is that? You shot lightning at James at the first dueling lesson, too. That was the wickedest thing I've ever seen."

Albus gulped. How was he going to explain this? He hadn't used a spell at all. The sensation of darkness had overcome him, and he had felt invincible. Albus had meant to do it, but he had no idea how he had managed to. It had always been like that, even when he had been younger.

"Um—it's a—it's a—er—" Albus was saved from coming up with a reason for his freakishness, however. A loud voice had interrupted him and was vibrating through the whole school:

"The final Dueling Lesson will start in five minutes. Please make your way toward the Great Hall. Try your hardest for this final lesson. The teams will be posted in your House common room the coming Friday," said the voice, presumably belonging to Headmaster Triton.

There was a sudden rush to get out of the library, and Albus was spared from talking to Scorpius. The two boys were pushed out of the library and walked toward the Great Hall with the mob of students. After arriving, they milled around the entrance hall for the remaining couple of minutes, waiting for the doors to the Great Hall to open. Finally, at three o'clock precisely, they were let in.

"Take your positions," Irving barked from the long stage. This was routine, and nobody needed telling twice. Albus stood in front of Scorpius, bored.

"Start your practice session," Irving continued. "The professors and I will be coming around to take notes, as usual."

Both yawning, the two boys shot nonverbal spells at each other at a slow pace. It wasn't a difficult fight, and the two of them were simply playing. Albus found it easy, and he feared the moment when he would have to duel Rylon or James.

"Should we try harder today?" Scorpius asked. "It's the last lesson and it's important and everything."

Albus nodded in agreement, and the two of them began to push themselves. Albus was getting more stellar at dueling, and he had completely stopped using verbal spells at this point. Even so, Rylon remained a step ahead of him.

A while later, the five-minute-long practice session drew to a close. "Okay, assemble in front of the stage," Irving shouted. Albus and Scorpius stopped dueling and gave him half their attention, remaining at the back of the room.

"The new spell today will enable you to temporarily blind your opponent," Irving said. "Watch."

Heartley glumly walked up to the stage, used to getting beat by Irving. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor waved his wand through the air with a slashing motion, pointed it at Heartley, and said, "_Caecobrivite!" _Heartley staggered backward, rubbing his eyes and dropping his wand in the process. "Simple," Irving said, pocketing his wand. "We will come around to pair you up. Practice this spell along with the others you have learned."

The teachers began to move around to choose pairs. Albus groaned. He was most often paired with Rylon, because the professors seemed to be very interested in how the two of them dueled. This time, it was Professor Patil who dragged him to where Rylon was standing.

"You, _again?"_ Rylon said, looking annoyed. "You're too easy."

"Am I?" Albus asked dangerously, aiming his wand carefully at Rylon's face. "Three... two... one—"

Rylon cheated and started early, but Albus had been expecting it. He recovered quickly, dodged Rylon's silent spell, and casted a nonverbal version of the Temporary Blinding Hex that Irving had taught them, which Rylon blocked with a yawn. Growling, Albus doubled his efforts, but Rylon tripled his, and Albus was left in the dust. He'd had enough. He was tired of always being the worst when he was supposed to be the best. _I'll show him that I'm meant to be the King of Slytherin, _Albus thought determinedly.

Albus whipped his wand through the air, and he felt the invincible feeling take over him again. Albus' eyes glowed. Rylon stepped back in fear, not having missed the flash of pure evil in Albus' emerald irises. The dark power ran through Albus, giving him strength. He saw bright green lightning materialize at his shoulder with a sinister sizzling noise_,_ and he watched it twist and snake its way down his arm and through his wand. A bolt of the volatile lightning erupted from the tip of his wand and shot through the air with a deafening crack.

It zoomed straight toward Rylon, who let out a yell of fear. He desperately casted a Shield Charm, but it had no effect. Strangely, Albus' mysterious bright green lightning went straight through the shield, shattering it. It missed Rylon by a hairbreadth.

Rylon looked shaken and was staring at Albus in horror. "What spell was that?" he demanded.

"I'm not telling!" Albus snarled. The dark feeling left him and was replaced with exhaustion. How had he done that—_again?_

Rylon opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by a loud hum.

"What's that?" someone asked, apparently having heard the noise, too. The buzzing was growing louder, and it rumbled through the Great Hall, catching everybody's attention. The doors to the Great Hall suddenly burst open with a _crash_, and a swarm of black, hairy fairy-like creatures shot into the room, disrupting the dueling lesson. The air was filled with screams as the fairies began biting and scratching the students.

Albus suddenly realized what they were when one sunk its teeth into his finger. They weren't fairies—they were _doxies, _and their venom was poisonous_. _Horrified, Albus shook the doxy off. He aimed his wand at several doxies and hissed, "_Glacius!"_ The doxies he had hit froze, their wings icy, and dropped to the floor, immobile.

"EVERYONE, GET OUT!" screamed Irving, blasting some doxies away from his face. "GO TO THE HOSPITAL WING FOR THE ANTIDOTE IF YOU'VE BEEN BITTEN!"

The students did not need telling twice, and they tore out of the Great Hall, nursing their bites and scratches. Albus waited until everyone was out and closed the door, preventing the doxies from escaping.

"Quick! We might get seriously ill if we don't treat our bites right away! Look—mine's already swelling!" Rose shrieked. Albus and Scorpius joined up with her and the three of them dashed to the Hospital Wing, the rest of the school hot on their heels.

They all skidded to a stop in front of the Hospital Wing, and, to their relief, Madam Pomfrey already had gallons of antidote out. The students lined up and had their bites treated as quickly as possible, though several had to stay overnight. An hour later, the whole matter was cleared up and Albus, Rose, and Scorpius returned to the library for the remainder of the day.

"That was terrible!" Rose gasped once they had settled down again. "Where did they come from?"

"Maybe the school had an infestation somewhere," Scorpius suggested.

"I don't think so," Albus said. "There are probably charms around to stop infestations like Doxies, and I'm sure the professors would try to prevent it."

"There's something else odd, too," Scorpius said. "There were a lot of them. Thousands, I think. Usually, there's fifty, maybe a hundred. But a _thousand_?_"_

"What do the professors think about it?" Rose asked.

"They didn't look happy, but then again, who did?" Scorpius said.

Albus counted off on his fingers. "So far, I've been attacked by Chizpurfles, a Pogrebin, a Tebo, and now—Doxies. What's going on?" he wondered.

"There's something really fishy about this," Rose said, scratching her chin.

"We haven't noticed," Scorpius said sarcastically. She glared at him.

The day went on, and the sun set. The professors were sneaking around the place, looking extremely worried and muttering to themselves about magical creatures. Heartley was the only one who didn't seem to care.

Albus and Scorpius returned to their dormitories and fell onto their beds, too tired to talk. Albus closed his eyes, and the welcome sensation of sleep washed over him.

* * *

A boy, almost fifteen old, stood in front of a vast group of people. These people all wore blood-red cloaks, and their eyes gleamed as they gazed at their leader.

"Soon, I will be entering my Transformation, the stage where my powers will properly come alive. When they do, they will have no bounds," said the boy coldly. His face was emotionless, uncaring, blank.

The people in front of him shuddered. The man, that man with the bluish face and the pure black eyes, stepped forward. "And I will take over while the Transformation takes place," he said.

The boy's normal eye flashed, and his red one glowed. "Yes..." He did not look happy about it. Then he continued as if nothing had happened.

"You are all no doubt impatient for the destruction to begin." The boy paused. "But it is not time yet." He clenched his fist, and emotion finally blazed into his distorted features. He smiled sinisterly. "I count down the days until this ruined world is properly destroyed, but let's not be hasty. We cannot fail... but only a little longer, my friends..."

He turned away, the evil grin still on his face. He had come far from the boy who had been sure that he had no purpose. Now he knew that his purpose was to destroy this world, and rule the new one. He was the embodiment of evil, and he had finally accepted his destiny. For the first time ever, he was glad to be a freak of magic, a monster.

Then, suddenly, he began to glow. He gasped and clutched his chest, but to no avail. He was glowing even brighter now, and the crowd around him was blinded by the harsh blood-red light. He fell to the ground, shuddering. He was nothing but a blazing blood-red sun now, and he himself could not see anything but red.

"The Transformation has begun!" shouted the man with the bluish skin. "The time has come..."

The boy was still glowing, dimly and then brightly. Soon, his powers would awaken. He was glad to be different from everyone else, the contradiction. He called himself the _Paradox_. He would have full control over his powers, and then, he would finally be the most powerful being in the world.

He would be a monster.

* * *

Albus was panting and gasping. He slowly raised his head and reached for the jug of water on his bedside cabinet. His head spun with the memories of his dream—or rather, nightmare. The question that had been gnawing at him before returned: Had the events of the dream really occurred in the past?

Of course not, right?

* * *

**Author's Note: Surprise, surprise, Elina's _not_ a Mary-Sue! Thank goodness. I'm sure she was getting annoying, and there's nothing that ruins a story more than a Mary-Sue. Elina doesn't fall into that category anymore, since 99.99999% of Mary-Sues are freakishly smart, and Elina's the exact opposite.**


	9. The Hunt for the Prey

**-Chapter Nine-**

**The Hunt for the Prey**

Albus walked around the castle in a daze for the next week, extremely worried about the Dueling Teams. He wouldn't be able to bear it if Vladimir Rylon became Captain—_Albus_ was King, and that meant that he had to be the Captain, too. He couldn't lose his throne after working so hard to get it in the first place.

On Friday morning, Albus entered the Slytherin common room from his dormitory to see that there was a huge crowd around the bulletin board. His heart started to beat erratically. He walked forward, hoping against hope that the sheet tacked on the board would say what he wanted it to.

**Dueling Teams**

**Slytherin**

**There will be seven teams for each house, all on different levels. Each team will have seven members. Team One will be the main House Team. The other teams will continue to learn spells, while Team One will participate in friendly competition with the Team Ones from the other houses. The teams are as follows:**

**Team One**

**Captain: Vladimir Rylon**

**Other Members: Lyra Flint, Petra Dylans, Arturas Loulley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter, and Blake Zabini.**

Albus stared at the sheet for a second, not bothering to read below Team One. A feeling of despair overcame him as he read Rylon's name beside the world 'Captain.' The floor seemed to be falling away, and Albus seemed to be falling with it...

"Oh, there you are, Al," Scorpius said, seizing Albus' wrist and dragging him to the sofa. "Uh—you didn't make Captain."

"I know," Albus said, feeling empty. "I'm not... I'm not..."

At that moment, Rylon, along with the rest of his army, came strolling towards Albus. Rylon looked very pleased with himself, and his eyes sparkled maliciously. "Well Potter, the best man won. And it was _me."_

Albus gritted his teeth but kept silent, not knowing what to say.

"Get out of here!" snarled Scorpius.

"You're not allowed to boss around your king, Malfoy," said Rylon, smirking.

Albus stood up, furious. "_Y-You're not King,"_ he said quietly, struggling to keep his temper under control.

"I believe I am. Captain and King—two words for the same thing, aren't they?" Rylon said innocently.

Albus looked at the ground, his cheeks reddening. Why did he always have to be so easily defeated?

Albus smiled. Rylon looked a bit alarmed at this. "All right," Albus said, grinning evilly. "That's good. You'll be a great King. I step down. See you later, _Vlad," _With those words, Albus stalked out of the common room, his eyes flashing sinisterly.

He wasn't the same stuttering boy that he had been last year. He had become rather fond of power, and he wasn't going to be taken down so easily. He was going to use a Slytherin's best weapons: lying, backstabbing, blackmailing, and tricking. It wasn't over yet, and Albus was going to win back his throne and show all of Slytherin that he was the only one who could bring them the glory that they needed.

* * *

October went on, and Albus was loaded down with attending both Dueling and Quidditch practices. Rylon was being downright cruel to Albus, and Albus was being annoyingly polite and modest. Slytherin had roughly been put back together since Albus had stepped down, but its internal war wasn't close to over yet.

Fortunately, Albus hadn't used his strange bright green lightning because he was afraid to be seen as a freak. He was keeping his head down and lying low, hoping to lull Rylon into a false sense of security.

Rylon had gotten much of Slytherin on his side by telling them that Albus was a freakish Dark Wizard and would only confirm that Slytherin was still an evil house, but Albus was sure that Rylon was a hypocrite. He was going to catch Rylon doing Dark Magic and make the Slytherins turn back to Albus. And if, for some reason, Rylon wasn't a Dark Wizard, Albus was going to frame him.

He just needed to wait for the right moment to strike.

Albus did not just have Rylon and the Slytherins to deal with—James was being nastier to Albus than usual. To Albus horror, James had been made the Gryffindor Captain of Team One, despite him only being a third year.

Just a few days before Halloween, Albus walked to the library, wanting to spend an evening with Rose and Scorpius. Out of nowhere, thugs appeared all around him, James at the front. Albus, taken by surprise, was blasted into the wall.

"What do you want, James?" Albus snarled, picking himself up and dusting off his robes. "I haven't got time to deal with your stupid antics."

James looked murderous. "I saw you and Elina walking by the lake the other day!" he yelled, pointing his wand at Albus' face.

Albus whipped out his own wand and aimed it at James. "So what if I was?" he said, trying not to blush at the memory.

For the past month, he and Elina had been taking walks out on the Hogwarts grounds whenever it wasn't pouring. (Which was rare.) Sometimes, Rose or Scorpius would join in, though it was usually Albus and Elina alone. He was finding it easier to talk to her, though he still often messed up his words and stumbled in her presence.

"I told you to stay away from her!" James growled. "Elina and_ I_ take walks around the lake alone—we've done it since the beginning of last year!"

Albus felt sick. Of course, he shouldn't have been surprised. Elina was best friends with James, just like she was with Albus.

"I can spend time with her, too!" Albus said angrily. "Why don't _you _stay away instead of bossing me around—like I'll actually listen to you!"

"I'm tired of you!" James shouted. "You're a _loser_! She'll never see anything in someone like you! Give up!"

All the color drained from Albus' face. James was right—who in their right mind would choose Albus over James? "Shut up," Albus choked out.

James smirked. "You're just a loser and a freak! You were never a hero, and nobody thinks you're so great just because you fought off Hoffman, who—let's face it—was an idiot, anyways! You're a traitor, and Dad thinks that you're becoming a Dark Wizard—remember what he said to you this summer?"

Derlwin, who was standing behind James, looked confused. "He fought off Hoffman—hero—_what?" _James shot him a glare, and Derlwin fell quiet.

Albus gaped at James, feeling tears threatening to fall. He wanted to run away. His father _did_ think that about him ever since Albus had gone to Knockturn Alley. The rest of the family wanted nothing to do with him—Albus _was_ considered a traitor.

What was more, Albus was the perfect definition of a freak. He was supposed to be a powerful wizard, but he was different from even them! _What's wrong with me?_ Albus thought desperately. _Why can't I just be normal?_

Albus shook his head to clear his thoughts. Feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to make anything better. "You're lying, James," Albus said, his arm shaking as he pointed his wand at his older brother. His voice was steadily becoming louder and louder. "I'm not a Dark Wizard, and I won't ever be one. I'm not a traitor, either!_ Take that back!"_

"_Traitor!_ You're a cowardly traitor!" James yelled. "You're living in a stupid fantasy, thinking that you're a great hero! You're a loser—ask everybody! Ask _Elina,_ why don't you?"

Albus snarled and leapt for James, but he was pinned against the wall by Derlwin. "A dozen against one?" Albus said through gritted teeth. "Where's this noble Gryffindor? Maybe _you_ should be in Slytherin, _coward."_

James looked close to throttling Albus right there and then, but he took a deep breath and said, "Let Snivellus go. We'll take care of this one on one."

Albus pushed Derlwin roughly away from him, seething.

James smirked and said, "Well, I beat you at the first Dueling Lesson, didn't I? It should be simple to do it again."

"It seems that your facts are mixed up," Albus said, also smirking, "because I believe I won that. I used that wicked bright green lightning trick, didn't I?"

"That doesn't count!" James protested. "You're a freak!"

"I'm not a freak," Albus said, not believing himself. "That was a spell that I invented," he continued, lying through his teeth.

James looked a bit surprised and quite a bit jealous. Albus, satisfied, said, "Too cowardly to duel me now that you know?"

"You wish," James snarled. He whipped out his wand, and Albus mirrored him.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" shouted a voice from the end of the hallway. To both brothers' surprise, Neville and Elina came walking onto the scene.

All the color drained out of Elina's face, and her eyes darted from James to Albus. Neville gaped at them, speech temporarily leaving him.

"W-We were—uh—w-we—" Albus stuttered, his face turning beet-red.

"It's his fault!" James shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Albus.

"N-No!" Albus gasped. "You liar!"

Neville seemed to regain his voice. He glared at them. "This is the second time I've walked in on you two dueling!"

"_Why?"_ Elina whispered. Her face was pink, too, and Albus had the feeling that she knew the answer. Both brothers stared at her with a burning intensity.

Neville did not seem to notice. "Detentions! The rest of you, get out of here!" Neville shouted. James' gang scurried away, though Elina remained. "You two are coming with me to the Headmaster's office."

Resigned to the worst, Albus and James followed Neville. Elina meekly walked with them, her cheeks still flushed. James reached over to hold her hand, causing Albus to let out a strangled gasp. Extremely dizzy, he looked down at the ground, which was spinning uncontrollably.

"Miss Lyon," Neville said as they reached the gargoyle in front of the Headmaster's office, "you can go back to your common room. We'll discuss your Herbology essay later."

Elina nodded and let go of James' hand. She gratefully ran the other direction, her book bag swinging at her side. Albus watched her go, his heart panging. What had he been thinking? Albus was the biggest school loser and a freak, and she was the most popular and prettiest girl in the school. She only thought of him as a friend, and there wasn't a chance that she would look at him when she had James.

"Go up," Neville said after he had uttered the password. "Expect detentions. I'm telling your parents again. I can't believe this. You two are brothers!"

"No," both James and Albus whispered to themselves. Neville did not hear and walked away, still shaking his head.

Albus and James entered and stepped onto the spiral staircase. They exchanged death glares as the stairs magically rose to a wooden door that marked the entrance to the Headmaster's living quarters. The brothers paused, hearing voices coming from inside.

"Perhaps we should get the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures involved," said Triton from behind the door. "I mean, where are all these creatures coming from?"

"I wonder...," replied another voice. Albus widened his eyes. The voice belonged to Irving.

James didn't seem to care about interrupting the conversation, and he pushed the door open and strolled in. Albus growled. He had wanted to hear more, but of course, James had to go and ruin everything.

Irving and Triton froze and turned around. "James, what is it?" Irving asked, ignoring Albus.

"I'm glad to see you, sir," James said. He smirked over at Albus and continued, "You see, Snivellus and I had a little spat. It was his fault, not mine—"

"No, it wasn't!" Albus snarled. "Who's the one who attacked me for no reason?"

"It wasn't for 'no reason!'" James shouted. "You're a little coward—"

"_Me?"_ Albus hissed. "Who's the one who defeated Hoffman? Who's the one who saved the world?"

James' face turned purple with fury. "That doesn't change anything! You're still a traitor and a loser, and what you did last year just proves that you're a freak!"

Albus stumbled backwards, tears stinging his eyes.

"Enough!" Triton growled. "Twenty points from both Slytherin and Gryffindor. Leave now!" Albus and James stared at him, shocked out of their argument.

Albus looked around the office to see that the portraits were watching the two brothers interestedly. He spotted Snape, who was glaring at James. Dumbledore was there, too, a curious expression on his face. Albus quickly looked down at his shoes.

"Well," Triton said curtly, "I asked you two to leave."

Albus and James hurried out of the circular room without protest. _What's going on? Triton seemed really desperate to get us out of there..._

* * *

A few days later, Halloween arrived at last. Classes were out early, and Albus and Scorpius made their way to the library for their free period. To Albus' relief, they saw Rose entering the library, grumbling about History of Magic homework. The three of them sat down and started talking. Albus and Scorpius were careful not to mention anything about the internal war in Slytherin, lest Rose tell James.

However, Albus decided to tell them about what he had overheard in the Headmaster's Office.

"That's good," Scorpius said. "The Ministry should take care of whatever's going on here."

Rose nodded. "I hope the Aurors come, too. I miss Dad."

Finally, they wrapped up their conversation and headed out of the library with the intention of going to the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast. At that very moment, however, a ghost slid out of the wall beside them.

Albus and Scorpius jumped a foot in the air, though Rose simply said, "Hello, Nearly Headless Nick."

Nearly Headless Nick sighed at her and said, "Well, it's a pleasant surprise to see you, Miss Weasley."

"And you too, Nick," Rose replied, grinning. "Happy Deathday."

Scorpius snorted but managed to turn it into a hacking cough. Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you," Nick said sourly. "But, yet again, I have been excluded from participating in the Headless Hunt."

This was too much for Scorpius. He burst out into laughter, causing Nearly Headless Nick to glare at him. "A Slytherin... oh dear. I haven't been able to look the Bloody Baron in the eye after you won the House Cup last year for the first time in nineteen years."

"We don't like him very much, either," Albus muttered.

Nearly Headless Nick looked at him curiously. "Ah... I remember your father."

"Who doesn't?" Albus said to his shoes.

A grin broke out on Nearly Headless Nick's face. "Now, I know that you'll protest, but I'd like if it you came to my Deathday party."

"Uh...," Scorpius said, smirking obnoxiously. "We'd rather not."

"I don't think he was asking you, Scorpius," Rose said nastily. To Nearly Headless Nick, she said, "We'd be delighted to come."

"What? No!" Scorpius spluttered. "I don't want to go to some—"

Nearly Headless Nick looked very annoyed. "I knew it was too much to expect youngsters these days to have proper manners."

Albus stepped on Scorpius' toes to make him shut up.

"Okay," Albus agreed. "We'll come now, if you want."

"Thank you," Nick said, a bit pompously. "I'm hoping to get a few more ghosts—er—people to attend my party. This way, not everyone's going to abandon me to watch the dratted Hunt."

"Right...," Albus muttered. The three of them followed Nick, though he passed through a couple walls, leaving them in the dust.

"That was nice," Scorpius grumbled. "I don't want to go to some stupid Deathday party. What is that, anyways?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Rose said snobbishly, taking the chance to show Scorpius up. "It's a—"

"We know what it is," Albus said quickly, before Rose could get started.

They descended the dungeons, and the air grew colder. Albus and Scorpius were used to it, but Rose shivered and muttered, "How do you Slytherins deal with this?"

"_We like it,"_ Scorpius hissed, mockingly scary, the shadows making his thin, pale face look rather like a vampire's.

Rose looked scandalized, though Albus snickered. The torchlights dimmed eerily, and the air was so cold now that the three second years could see their breath solidify. They descended deeper, and soon they could faintly hear a screeching sound.

"Make that bloody noise stop!" Rose groaned, clapping her hands over her ears.

"Is that a banshee?" Scorpius wondered.

They picked up their pace, finally entering a large chamber which was filled with ghosts. Blue candles decorated the chamber and a gloomy, spider web-covered chandelier crookedly hung from the ceiling. Nearly Headless Nick was conversing jovially with a portly witch, winking and offering her a platter of dead fish. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius figured out the source of the terrible scratching noise; a dreadful orchestra of sorts was playing sad-looking instruments as several couples danced.

"Ew?" Rose said, looking at the fish in horror.

"Ouch," Albus said, rubbing his ears and trying to ignore the orchestra. His stomach grumbled—the Halloween Feast would have started already.

"What did you get us into now?" Scorpius groaned, glaring at Rose.

The three of them glanced at the table, which featured a moldy cake with drying frosting, rancid juice, and ancient, disintegrating biscuits. Albus was ready to faint from the acrid smell of it.

"Ah—you three are here," said Nearly Headless Nick, swooping over to them. "Now that all parties have arrived, I will start my speech."

They watched him as he glided toward the stage. He waved his hand, and the orchestra stopped playing. Everyone stopped what they were doing and trained their attention to Nearly Headless Nick. He cleared his throat importantly and waved his hand again, cueing the sad music.

It certainly made Albus sad, since he doubted that he would be able to hear properly again.

"If I could have everyone's attention, it's time for my speech! My late lamented lords, ladies, and gentlemen, it is my great sorrow to host my five-hundred-and-twenty-fifth Deathday party. If you would be so kind to listen to my ballad:

"_It was a mistake any wizard could make,_

_Who was tired and caught on the hop,_

_One piffling error, and then, to my terror,_

_I found myself facing the chop..."_

"Tragic," Scorpius said, pretending to tear up.

Albus would have laughed if it wouldn't have been so out of place. Rose glared at Scorpius and whispered, "You don't know anything! Apparently, Nearly Headless Nick was executed because he accidentally gave Lady Grieve a tusk—"

"That's a good way to charm a girl," Scorpius said sarcastically.

Before Albus could start howling with laughter, there was a loud whooshing noise that distracted everyone in the room. A huge group of ghostly men riding on equally ghostly horses came galloping into the room, throwing their heads up.

"My, my, Nicolas de Mimsy-Porpington," called the man at the head of the Headless Hunt, waving happily.

Nick scowled. "Hello, Patrick Delaney-Podmore, my good sir."

"Why the upside-down smile?" asked Podmore from his shoulder, his detached face grinning. "Come on, this grump's still annoyed about us rejecting his application. Tell me, Nick, how could you play Headless Hockey if you can't take your head off?"

Nick growled, muttering something about how forty-five hacks should have been enough for him to join the Hunt. Ignoring him, Podmore threw his head in the air and reared his horse, and the rest of the Headless Hunters followed his lead and began to play catch with their heads. Nick desperately tried to regain his guests' attention, but nobody bothered to listen to him. Sighing, Nick floated away, apparently used to this.

Albus felt a little sorry for him. With the intention to make him feel better, Albus trailed after Nick. Before he could get too far, however, he was blocked by the Bloody Baron.

"Uh—hi," Albus said, gulping nervously as he scanned the haunted ghost's bloodied robes. Rose squeaked, and even Scorpius looked a bit frightened.

"Hello, fellow Slytherins," growled the Bloody Baron. Albus and Scorpius exchanged confused looks. They hadn't ever heard the Bloody Baron speak before.

"Do not be afraid of this old man," said the Bloody Baron. "I have wanted to speak with you for a long time, Albus Severus Potter. You have brought glory back to Slytherin house."

"Thanks," Albus said quietly, looking down at his shoes. It was either because he was shy of receiving praise or scared of the Bloody Baron.

"So," Scorpius began conversationally, "why are you all—uh—bloody?"

The Bloody Baron glared at him. Scorpius shrunk backwards, his gray eyes widening with fear.

"It is a long and dreadful tale," the Bloody Baron said sadly, "but now is not the time to tell it."

Albus gulped once more. He wanted to get out of here immediately.

"Now, returning to the subject at hand," continued the Bloody Baron. "I would like to warn you of the dangers to come."

"What?" Albus spluttered, completely shocked.

"We ghosts hear a lot of things," explained the Bloody Baron, his haunted eyes darkening. He adjusted his blood-smeared robes and fixed his flinty glare on Albus. _"You_ may have a part to play in what is coming."

Albus shook his head quickly. "Oh—uh—_right_..." He trailed off, not sure what else to say. What in Merlin's name was the Bloody Baron talking about?

The Bloody Baron nodded slowly at Albus' half-hearted response and drifted off, the permanent look of anguish still on his face.

"What was he going on about?" Rose wondered out loud, voicing Albus' thoughts.

"No idea," Albus said, shrugging. He couldn't quite get his head round it.

"Can we leave?" asked Scorpius. "It's freezing, and I wouldn't say no to food that I can eat without being poisoned." He gestured toward the supposed nourishment table.

"Fine," Albus sighed, quite relieved to leave. After saying a hurried goodbye to Nearly Headless Nick, they sprinted out of the party chamber, embracing the warmth as they started climbing the dungeons.

"Maybe there'll still be some pudding left," Rose said hopefully. Albus nodded, dreaming about the treacle tart that he fancied.

They rapidly approached the exit of the dungeons as the minutes passed. "I'm never coming back here," Rose said, shivering. Albus and Scorpius shook their heads at her.

"It's pretty nice, actually," Albus told her. "And quiet."

"It fits you," Rose said, smiling widely.

"What do you mean?" Albus asked.

"You don't get it?" Scorpius said, snickering.

"I'll explain," Rose said. "You're usually quiet, modest, and shy. But sometimes you're a completely different person—you're cunning. You won't let anyone get in your way, and you'll destroy anyone who does."

"I don't understand what this has to do with me liking the dungeons," Albus said, still confused.

"She means that you're a Slytherin," Scorpius informed him. "Finally accepted it now, Rose?"

"That's _not_ what I meant," Rose said irritably. "But I can see that he's really a Slytherin. Al wouldn't be Al any other way."

"T-Thank you?" Albus said uncertainly. It would usually be an insult coming from her, but this time she seemed to want it to be a compliment.

They continued along and finally walked out of the dungeons. Even Scorpius and Albus were eager to breathe warmer air. Rose actually did a little jig of happiness. Albus could smell delicious scents wafting toward them from the Great Hall.

But the three second years' jubilation did not last for long.

"_Prey, we have caught your scent, and we have been ordered...we are coming to kill you..."_

"Did you hear them?" spluttered Albus, starting. It was the voices. They sent chills down his back, wrapping icy tendrils around his heart.

"Hear what?" Scorpius asked.

"The voices! I've heard them before—during detention with Irving!" Albus shouted.

"_Coming to kill you... the one we must kill... but is it you?"_

"It's getting fainter! It's moving up!" Albus yelled, pushing his way through several tapestries in order to reach the stairs, Rose and Scorpius hot on his heels. They tore up the stairs and ran down another corridor, panting heavily. Albus pushed himself harder—the voices had wanted to kill someone. But they had faltered—were they unsure of something?

"_This is not the Prey. We failed this time... but we will catch scent of you again, Prey..."_

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius skidded to a stop on the second floor near Moaning Myrtle's lavatory. There was something lying on the ground ahead of them. Rose screamed, and Scorpius let out a strangled gasp. Albus stayed silent and slowly approached the figure lying in the middle of the corridor. The figure was familiar to him...

The boy who was frighteningly still and lying on the ground was Eric Derlwin.

"Eric!" Rose screeched, running over to the limp body. She looked shell-shocked. "He can't be dead! Please, let him not be dead!"

"He's breathing," Scorpius said harshly, his usual sarcastic demeanor disappearing. "But not much. We need to get him to the Hospital Wing. I'll levitate him—I've never done a human before, though."

Albus looked around fearfully. "Whoever—or whatever—attacked him might still be around. Those voices..." He trailed off, his head throbbing.

He suddenly caught sight of the wall and wished that he hadn't. Shadowy letters had appeared on the wall, and they gave off an aura of the worst evil. Albus stepped toward the wall, his breath catching in his throat. "Look..." he croaked. The shadowy letters glowed, and Albus' eyes scanned the words that the letters made:

**THE REALM IS OPENING.**

**THE ORDERS HAVE BEEN GIVEN.**

**THE PREY, BEWARE.**

**WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU.**

**WE WILL DESTROY YOU.**

Then, to their horror, the noise from the Great Hall increased, and the happy conversations of well-fed students neared. The feast had evidently ended, and the crowd was coming towards them. Any moment, Derlwin would be discovered...

"This is strange," Scorpius whispered. "There aren't any marks on him. He might have fainted, or something." Scorpius kicked Derlwin, causing Rose to whimper.

"Don't do that!" she shrieked.

"Well," Scorpius began, looking as if he had wanted to kick Derlwin for ages, "he's not waking up."

At that very moment, the crowd from the Great Hall arrived on the scene. All the chatter died down immediately, and there was dead silence. Everyone stared at the body, and then very slowly lifted their heads to look at Albus. He felt as if everything was falling around him and he was falling with it. He could see the hostility in their glares, the horror in their eyes.

"What happened?" gasped Neville, staring at the body.

"He's not dead," Scorpius said quickly. "We had nothing to do with it! We just came from the dungeons—we were attending Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party."

"Lots of ghosts saw us," Rose added. "They'll tell you."

"What _is_ this?" Neville whispered.

He called Professor Moore and Professor Patil toward him, and Patil conjured up a stretcher while Moore levitated Derlwin onto it. Everyone watched in silence as Derlwin was magically wheeled from the scene, his head lolling as the trolley moved. Several people protested—Derlwin was very well-liked.

"Come with me, you three," Neville said, looking shaken. "We need to get as much information on this as we can. Nothing like this has happened in years and years..."

"It was you!" James shouted, pointing at Albus. "_You_ did this!"

"No!" Elina wailed from behind James, her blue-violet eyes widening with shock. "Al would never—"

"It was you," James repeated, glaring at Albus. "You're a _monster,_ and I'm going to prove that you're behind this!" James' eyes shone with determination.

"N-No..._No_!_" _Albus gasped.

"B-Be quiet, James," Neville stuttered. "Al, Rose, Mr. Malfoy, come on."

Rose nodded at Neville and seized Albus and Scorpius' wrists, apparently recovered from the shock of seeing one of her Gryffindor friends lying immobile on the ground. She dragged them after Neville, who took them down a floor. They stopped in front of the very ugly gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. "Harry James Potter," said Neville to the gargoyle, causing it to leap aside. Evidently, the password had been changed.

"Wait here," Neville said to them once they had gone up, "I'm getting the other professors."

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius stood there, exchanging worried looks.

"We're not going to be expelled, right?" Rose asked in a very small voice.

"No, don't be stupid," Scorpius said.

Albus did not say anything. James' words kept circling in his head.

_Monster. Monster. Monster._

He shook himself, trying and failing to push away the negative thoughts. He felt very dizzy and fatigued, and he wanted nothing more than to lie in bed. He was close to being sick—what was happening to him? _What was wrong with him?_

"Are you okay?" Rose whispered. "You look like you're going to collapse."

"I'm f-fine," Albus choked out. He leaned against the wall to steady himself, and to his horror, found that he was sliding down it, his feet unable to support him.

"What's going on?" Scorpius demanded. "You were all right a few minutes ago."

Albus' vision blurred, and he did not respond. He could vaguely see the portraits, Rose, and Scorpius staring at him with worry, but he could not concentrate on them. Visions flickered in front of his eyes, but they did not stay put long enough for him to analyze them.

Suddenly, the door opened again, and what looked like the whole of the staff crowded inside the small, circular room. Albus tried to support himself, but his strength did not return to him. Unfortunately, nobody except for his two best friends seemed to notice his pain.

"Now, one of you needs to tell me exactly what happened," growled Triton, sitting down. His flinty gaze searched Albus' face.

"We went to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party," Rose began.

"A bunch of ghosts saw us," Scorpius said quickly. "They'll vouch for us."

"And then we were going to go up to the feast, but Al—"

Albus seemed to wake up. _I can't tell them, _he thought desperately. _You're not supposed to hear voices that nobody else can hear! _He assumed a truthful expression and gave the professors an innocent smile. "I told them that I really didn't want to walk into the feast while everyone else was there, so I said that I would see Herwina. They offered to go with me, and we all started walking up. Then we ran into the message on the wall and Derlwin," Albus said smoothly.

The dark feeling seemed to take over him again, and he felt no guilt at lying. He felt invincible, and strength surged back into his limbs and mind. This dark power—it made him stronger—but how, and more importantly, _why?_

Rose and Scorpius gave him confused looks, but they were both smart enough to keep their mouths shut. Albus held Triton's gaze coldly, refusing to step down and change his story.

"All right," Triton said finally. "We don't know what is wrong with Mr. Derlwin, but he appears to be in a sleep of some sort. The term for this would be 'coma,' I think. We will give everyone more information tomorrow."

"Go back to your dormitories," snarled Irving, speaking for the first time. His icy eyes did not leave Albus' face as he, Rose, and Scorpius walked out of the room.

The moment they were out of earshot of the professors, Rose spoke. "You said that you heard voices, didn't you?"

Albus bit his lip. These were his best friends... he could trust them. "I-I think I did."

"It's good that you didn't tell them," Scorpius said darkly. "It's not normal to hear voices that nobody else can hear. They'll think you're loony."

"That's what I thought," Albus sighed. "But I heard them... you believe me, right?"

Scorpius and Rose exchanged an uncertain look. "Sure," Rose muttered unconvincingly. Albus felt a twinge of anger, but he pushed it away. It was rather farfetched to claim to hear voices that no one else could hear, anyways. He couldn't blame Rose and Scorpius.

"We'd better be getting back," Scorpius said. The two Slytherins said farewell to their Gryffindor friend and descended down the dungeons again.

Albus felt the dark power leaving him, and fatigue weighed down on him again. _I'm really going insane, _he thought grimly. Finally, he and Scorpius reached the Slytherin common room. Most Slytherins avoided him and instead turned to Rylon, who was holding court. Albus gave him a bitter smile and stormed to his dormitory. Relieved to finally be in bed, Albus closed his eyes, wishing that he could at least find peace in his dreams.

But of course, he couldn't.

* * *

A boy of about fifteen was lying on the ground, stick straight. There was a semi-transparent, blood-red hemisphere around him, shielding him from view. Outside it stood a man with blue-tinged skin and cold black eyes. He was watching the boy intently, a cruel smile on his face.

The shield pulsed brightly, and the boy within it stirred slightly. Then, quite suddenly, the blood-red shield quivered and vanished, leaving only the boy. The boy's ruined eye, which was pure red, was wide open, and his normal eye followed suit. The right half of the boy's face was nothing but a scar, a terrifying scar that sowed fear in the hearts of even the bravest of wizards.

The boy sat up and smiled, disfiguring his face even more. The cruel grin caused the bluish-skinned man to shudder, and this made the boy smirk even more. He slowly stood up and stretched out his arms.

"How do you feel, Cryptan?" asked the man.

The boy cackled. "Why don't I show you, my dear mentor?"

The man stepped back, alarmed. The boy laughed harder. His laugh was high, harsh, and insane. The air around the boy was crackling, as if he was sucking the magic from it. The sky flickered, causing the boy and the man's faces to be half-lit. Then the sky blazed. It was no longer blue, but instead blood-red.

"See my power," whispered the boy. "I can do anything now. Anything."

It was the man's turn to cackle. "The whole world is in our hands, and now, we can squish it."

"_We_?" said the boy coldly. "There is no '_we_.' There is only _me_. I and I alone."

The man looked nervous, but the boy paid him no more attention. _"It is time for the _end _to begin," _the boy hissed.

* * *

Albus was tossing and turning. He jerked awake, panting hard. His sheets were soaked with sweat, and his jet black hair was plastered to his forehead. The boy—was his name 'Cryptan'?—had woken at last, ready to destroy the world.

_Nothing but a nightmare. Nothing but a nightmare. Nothing but a nightmare._

Albus took a deep, shuddering breath.

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow, Chamber of Secrets copy, anyone? Don't curl your lip just yet. I promise it has its differences. ;) Anyways, things are getting exciting with the plot, while Albus loses to Rylon and James is the stupidest person on earth. **

**I have some concerns to address. A lot of people seem to think that Albus is being hated too much- and he is. There's actually a reason for this- it's not just me deciding to be a sadist and torture my main character.(That _is_ kind of fun, though...) Albus was always disliked and shunned in his family because he never played with them or acted 'normal.' They didn't outright hate him at first, and they weren't completely cruel. His family probably didn't even know that their teasing and pranks hurt him so much, so Ginny and Harry probably thought it was all good fun. They didn't pay a whole lot of attention to their quiet middle child, anyways.**

**When Albus was Sorted into Slytherin, it was enough to turn him from the famous hero's son to the infamous disgrace. In my mind, I think that Slytherin is hated a lot in the Post-War society because of what they did in the final battle against Voldemort. I mean, all of them literally walked out of the Great Hall and didn't fight for Hogwarts at all! I would hate them, too.**

**After years of being hated and insulted for abandoning Hogwarts in its time of greatest need, however, Slytherin probably became meeker, though it still kept its slight dark quality. Gryffindor, in contrast, was probably babied, which helped inflate their heads. And many of the people in Gryffindor House aren't true Gryffindors at all- just people who forced the Hat to place them in the 'best' House, even if it wasn't right for them****.**

**And the Weasleys probably have a lot of wounds inflicted by the Slytherins, with Fred's _death_ and all... Who can blame them for hating Albus? We see it from his point of view, but if we saw it from James' or Fred II's or Louis' or etc., we'd see the other side and we'd realize that James and the rest aren't such gits after all. Honestly, he's a pretty cool, funny, and generally decent guy, which is why he's so popular and Rose and Elina hang out with him.**

******And, just sayin', Albus kind of being a freak of magic and being found at the scene of the crime doesn't really help his social situation.**

**Oh, and Ginny and Harry were so harsh because parents can be hypocritical sometimes. And Harry went to Knockturn Alley by accident one time and to spy on Draco another time. Those weren't exactly the sinister reason that Albus went- which was because he was drawn to the Dark Magic.**

**Anyways, what do you think? Do you think I made Slytherin hated too much? I think it's actually reasonable, considering how they acted during the Second Wizarding War, but I want to hear your opinion!**

**So, review please! :)**


	10. Suspicions & Serpents

**-Chapter Ten-**

**Suspicions and Serpents**

Albus' life took a turn for the worse after the Halloween incident. Triton had informed the school the next morning that Derlwin wasn't waking up, and there was something wrong with him. Apparently, Healers had come to check him, but they had not been able to come up with an adequate explanation. It was possible that Derlwin would never wake up again.

Derlwin's fate had shaken the school, and fear was present in the air like a poisonous gas. Albus was the main suspect, and James was out for revenge. The Slytherins, convinced that Albus was giving them a bad name, supported Rylon, and Albus did not dare challenge him.

Fortunately, Elina fully trusted Albus, though she was one of the few who did.

"You would never do anything like that," Elina said simply during their Potions/Acting class.

Albus sighed. "Thanks for believing me." He paused, and color rose in his cheeks. "I'm sorry f-for what James and I were d-doing when y-you and Professor Longbottom walked in on us."

Elina turned pink, too. She looked at the ground shyly. "Oh. Well, you didn't have to apologize." She finally met his eyes, and Albus was unable to look away from their blue-violet depths. "You're sweet, Al."

He blushed so furiously that he almost turned purple. (Courtesy to his Weasley genes.) They were quiet for a few minutes. Their assignment was to discuss one of Heartley's plays while Heartley went to curl his hair.

Albus, obviously, did not want to bring up one of Heartley's horrible plays. His eyes wandered to the round locket that Elina wore. He steeled himself and asked, "What's that locket?"

Elina looked surprised and covered her locket with her hand. "Oh—um—I think it's from my mother," she said hastily.

"You think?" Albus asked, confused.

Elina bit her lip. "Oh... well, I don't know who she is."

Albus did not want to probe any further. Embarrassed, he looked down at the ground again.

* * *

Both Dueling and Quidditch practices continued during November. Slytherin's first Dueling Match was quickly approaching, and it was against Hufflepuff's Team One. Rylon had put Albus, Scorpius, and the other members of Slytherin's Team One through rigorous training, and Albus, though he would never admit it to himself, had learned quite a lot from Rylon.

Finally, the day of the Slytherin versus Hufflepuff Dueling Match arrived. Albus woke up, feeling butterflies fluttering madly in his stomach. He wasn't too worried about Hufflepuff, but the feeling of uneasiness remained.

"The match is after lunch," Scorpius announced unnecessarily when Albus left the dormitory. They walked through the dungeons, Oswald Nesbitt nervously trailing behind them. The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement when they arrived, and most students wanted Hufflepuff to win. They hoped that Slytherin's unexpected rise to glory last year had been an unlucky mistake.

Albus gripped his blood-red wand tightly, readying himself for the match. Breakfast finished and lunch came and went.

"Good luck," Rose said a few minutes before the Dueling match, hugging both Albus and Scorpius.

Scorpius took advantage of the situation and said, "Hoping to see me flex my magical muscles, Rose?"

"Because you've got no real ones," Albus teased.

"You've got no right to talk," Scorpius grumbled.

Rose rolled her eyes and walked away from the two Slytherin boys. Elina came up to them a few moments later, politely wishing Scorpius good luck before throwing her arms around Albus' neck.

"I hope that you do well," she said into his ear.

"T-Thanks," Albus stuttered, turning very red. He noticed that James was watching them like a hawk, daring Albus to say something else to Elina. Albus narrowed his eyes back and silently challenged James. Elina did not seem to notice anything, and she let go of him and hurried back to James, her cheeks pink.

Albus stood there, swaying slightly and grinning stupidly. The murderous look on James' face wiped the smile from his face, however, and Albus turned back to Scorpius solemnly.

"The Dueling Match will now begin. Please leave the Great Hall while preparations are made. Dueling participants will need to stay and report to the staff table," said Triton's voice, rumbling through the whole school. The body of students stood up and left the room as one, and Albus found himself fighting against the crowd to make his way to the staff table. Several people tried to trip him and told him to 'break a leg,' but he managed to get to the front of the hall without any serious injuries.

Rylon and the rest of Slytherin Team One were there, and the Hufflepuffs were also present. They had determined looks on their faces, while the Slytherins simply smirked, knowing that they were going to squash Hufflepuff without trying. Albus didn't smirk, because he didn't want to appear arrogant.

Triton strode toward the two groups. He stood between them and raised his wand in the air, and the decorations turned to yellow and black and green and silver; the four house tables rose into the air and vanished; the staff table was uprooted and floated to the middle of the Great Hall, widening and taking the form of a stage. A yellow and emerald striped sheet covered the stage, and black and silver curtains appeared in front of it.

"It looks like there's going to be a production or a play, not a duel," Scorpius muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Triton pocketed his wand and said, "Hufflepuffs take the right side of the stage and Slytherins take the left side. Stay behind the curtains until further instruction is given. Representatives from the Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic will be arriving shortly."

"Dad!" Albus gasped. They two groups stepped behind the stage and waited behind the curtains. All was quiet, and Albus could hardly wait until his father arrived.

_I'll show him what I can do, _he thought, smiling.

The minutes passed unbearably, and Albus had the desire to point his wand at Rylon's back for practice, though he knew it was a completely dishonorable and cowardly thing to do. He fought off the urge and contented himself by doing a few drills with Scorpius.

Finally, Albus could hear voices coming from past the curtain. He walked away from the group of Slytherins and up to the stage and pulled a few inches of the curtain back to see what was happening outside. A surprising amount of adults, both professors and Ministry representatives, were standing in the middle of the room, engaged in polite conversation. With a squeak, Albus recognized his father and Uncle Ron as two of the adults.

"So, the Chizpurfles and Doxies, eh?" Uncle Ron was saying. "And Hagrid mentioned a Tebo, too."

"We'll contact the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They'll probably be launching an investigation," Albus' father said. "But we've got a lot to do in the Auror Office, anyways."

"There's an extremely powerful dark essence in the form of a kid out on the loose, after all," Uncle Ron added.

There were a few dry chuckles. Triton said, "Well, there are plenty of powerful wizards at Hogwarts. You're looking for a sixth or seventh year, correct?"

"It could be younger," Albus' father said reasonably.

"No way," Uncle Ron muttered, and several people nodded in agreement.

"So, they're looking for a powerful Dark Wizard that's a kid?" Scorpius asked.

Albus jumped, not having heard Scorpius creeping up behind him. "Uncle Ron said 'dark _essence_ in the form of a kid,' not a Dark Wizard."

"Same thing," Scorpius muttered. "What are they going to do with it if it's found?" And then an idea lit up his face.

"I don't know," Albus said. "Maybe sent him or her to Azkaban?" Then what Scorpius was trying to say hit Albus like a bucket of ice cold water in the face. "Wait a moment... you don't mean..."

"Exactly," Scorpius hissed. "Don't you get it?"

"We need to frame Rylon!" Albus whispered, casting around a wary eye to make sure that nobody was listening in on their conversation. "He fits, doesn't he? He's a powerful seventh year—if we can catch him doing Dark Magic, we can show him to Dad. Then he's off to Azkaban, or something worse..."

"... and the throne is yours," Scorpius finished.

Albus grinned evilly. "Shouldn't be hard."

"I wonder if it really is him, though," Scorpius said.

Albus shrugged. "It could be Rylon, in fact, it probably is. He's really powerful."

"But who cares whether it's him or not? He's off to Azkaban either way if we catch him doing Dark Magic," Scorpius said, pumping his fist in the air. The two boys returned to the Slytherin group unnoticed, smirking over at Rylon.

The voices past the curtain had stopped, and Albus looked up in confusion. He heard the doors creak open, and all the students swarmed into the Great Hall. He got back on the stage and walked up to the curtain and peered out, seeing that hundred of seats had been arranged all over the room. He could see the adults sitting at the back, and the students were just getting settled in. He spotted James by their father, apparently telling an amusing story. Harry, Ron, and a few other Ministry representatives laughed appreciatively, and Albus felt a pang of jealousy.

Then, without warning, the curtains slid open. Albus jumped off the stage with a squeak, stumbling as he did so.

"Welcome to the first Dueling Match of the year," Triton said, sweeping onto the stage. "Professor Irving will be our commentator and referee and will be explaining the procedure to you all." With those words, Triton left the stage.

A few seconds passed, and this time it was Irving who walked on the stage. He waved, and the majority of the room cheered, though the Slytherins gave him loathing looks. Albus glared at him, too.

"Hello, students, fellow teachers, and Ministry representatives," began Irving. "We have two honored guests today, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, esteemed members of the Auror Office." The cheering was deafening, and several people actually got up from their seats, seized parchment from out of Merlin knew where, and stampeded toward Albus' father and uncle, hoping for autographs.

"Now, now, there will be plenty of time for that later," assured Irving, grinning at the mortified look on Harry's face and the delighted one on Uncle Ron's. "In a few moments, one person from each team will walk up to the stage and duel. Once they are done, the winning person will earn a point for their team and the next two duelists will come out. Once all members are done, both groups will come up and engage in group dueling. Any questions?"

Apparently, nobody had any. Satisfied, Irving conjured up a scroll from nowhere and read from it. "Our first duelists: Petra Dylans from Slytherin and Sarah Bones from Hufflepuff!"

Petra Dylans, a tall, fifth-year girl with beady brown eyes, walked to the stage as Sarah Bones joined her. They bowed, barely inclining their heads.

"Ready, set, _DUEL_!_"_ Irving yelled.

The two girls started right away, and they were only a blur of colors as they dueled. They used nonverbal spells, and the students from below oohed in admiration for the advanced duelists. The duel continued on in a fast-paced fury, but Sarah Bones' wand was finally knocked from her.

"And... Slytherin wins the first round! Sadly...," Irving said, grumbling slightly. The crowd booed and shouted their disapproval, but the Slytherins managed to make themselves heard.

"Next, we have Blake Zabini from Slytherin and Isaac Macmillan from Hufflepuff. That's right, bow to each other. Ready, set, DUEL!"

The Dueling Match continued, and Albus felt his heart beating faster and faster, wondering when his turn would come. Scorpius was called and easily won against a third-year Hufflepuff. So far, Arturas Loulley and Lyra Flint had lost their matches, but Petra Dylans, Blake Zabini, and Scorpius had all won. Slytherin was winning, but only narrowly. Albus and Rylon were the only two duelists remaining.

Next, it was Rylon's turn. He walked up toward the Hufflepuff Team One Captain, Doug Jackson. They bowed, sending silent threats to each other as they did so. Then the duel began, and it barely lasted for a second. Almost bored, Rylon flicked his wand, blasting Jackson to the ground with a silent Impediment Jinx and Disarming him. Albus could have laughed—even _he_ did better against Rylon!

"And finally, Albus Potter from Slytherin and Zeke Smith from Hufflepuff," Irving said.

Albus gulped and walked up to the stage, his heart throwing itself against his ribcage. _Calm down, _he told himself. He had nothing to worry about, even if he was dueling a fourth year. Albus took out his blood-red wand and held it at his side, ready to jerk it upwards and point it at Smith's face.

"Ready, set, DUEL!" Irving shouted.

_Expelliarmus, _Albus thought, whipping his wand through the air. Smith blocked it smugly and shot a silent spell at Albus, who ducked. _Triplex Cantio_,he thought. Three separate nonverbal spells spurted from his wand tip, all taking different routes to Smith, who was taken by surprise. Barely managing to dodge, Smith sent another silent spell at Albus, who blocked it easily, all his nervousness leaving him. He felt alive when he was dueling, and he loved the feeling of being in control and causing harm. The duel was going well, and Albus sent a fiery spell of his own invention at Smith, smirking.

A strangled hissing noise broke out from the side of the Great Hall that was nearest the doors. Confused, Albus paused. He scanned the entrance, and what he saw there nearly made him faint. Right there in the room with the students was a three-headed serpent, rearing its head and baring its fangs. Its scales were striped orange and black, and it was nearly seven feet long.

Everyone stood there, temporarily dumbstruck. The three-headed serpent, taking advantage of the situation, quickly slithered its way toward the stage. Albus seemed frozen to the spot, and he realized, too late, that the three-headed serpent was coming towards _him._

"_Prey... Prey...," _it hissed.

"What's it saying?" Uncle Ron asked from the back, pushing his way up front, his wand out.

"Stay back, it's a Runespoor!" Albus' father shouted to the students, taking charge. The Runespoor looked up at Harry, taking its eyes off of Albus, who was shaking. The horrible three-headed snake glided toward his father, all three heads opening their mouths and showing off their fangs.

"NO!" Albus shouted at the serpents—or rather, the serpent. "Get away from him!"

Harry stared at Albus, a look of shock on his face. The rest of the students were slowly backing away from him, fearful. Albus wondered what he had done wrong, but drove the issue out of his mind. He had to get rid of the Runespoor first.

One of the serpent's heads, the one on the left, swung itself to look at Albus. "_Where is the Prey? Over there?"_

The middle serpent head said, looking dreamy, "_I like the air in this place. Can we live here?"_

The right serpent head bared its fangs at the other two. "_You fools! You stupid idiots! Kill the Prey!"_

Albus briefly wondered how he could understand them. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, pointing his wand at the head on the right.

"_To kill the Prey?" _wondered the middle head, looking at the right head for confirmation.

"_Idiot! You're an idiot! Can't you do anything right?" _screamed the right head.

The middle head seemed to have had enough. It let out a sob and said, "_You're so mean! I don't want you here!" _And with that, the middle head lunged at its partner.

Albus' father seemed to come to his senses. "_Incarcerous!" _he yelled. Ropes sprung up out of nowhere and tied the Runespoor to the ground. Its three heads were still wrestling with each other.

All the color had left both Harry and Uncle Ron's faces, and they stared at Albus, mouths agape.

"W-What?" Albus asked, confused. He looked around, seeing the fear and suspicion on his fellow students' faces. They were all glaring at him with an intense dislike. Albus, scared, turned to look at Zeke Smith, who was clutching his heart and regarding Albus with the utmost terror.

"H-He's a-a Par—" spluttered Uncle Ron.

"Not now," Harry snapped. "Al, come to the Headmaster's Office with me. Ron, get rid of the Runespoor."

Albus followed his father meekly, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"What did you say to it?" Harry asked finally, not looking at Albus.

"I-I said—I said—_wait_—you couldn't understand me?" Albus said.

"Al, you're a Parselmouth. I couldn't understand what you were saying to it."

"A _Parselmouth_?" Albus gasped, unable to believe it. "N-No! I can't be a Parselmouth!"

"I know what I saw," Harry said harshly. Then, more to himself, he muttered, "How could you have gotten it? I don't have the ability anymore, not since the part of Voldemort inside me was destroyed..."

"B-But—you—you know t-that I-I wouldn't hurt anybody—DAD!" Albus said, his voice getting higher and more panicked with every word.

"I don't know what you said to it—but I know that you wouldn't hurt us," Harry said quickly, turning around to hug his son.

Albus buried his head in his father's chest, ready to start sobbing. _A Parselmouth... how could I be a Parselmouth? _

At that moment, Headmaster Triton's voice rumbled through the whole school. "All students, please return to your dormitories. The Dueling match is canceled. All teachers, come to my office." Albus heard footsteps nearing and looked up. The professors and the Ministry representatives, Triton at their head, were walking toward them.

"Harry James Potter," Triton said to the gargoyle, causing it to leap aside. The professors and Ministry representatives poured in, Triton, Harry, and Albus taking the spiral staircase up to the office last. Albus stumbled in behind his father, gulping nervously.

Albus was already suspected of being the person who had attacked Derlwin, but now he was a Parselmouth. He had a terrible feeling that nobody, not even Rose and Scorpius, would be able to trust him anymore. He nearly collapsed at the thought of Rose and Scorpius leaving him.

Triton walked over to his desk and sat in, fixing Albus with a flinty glare. "Did you know that you were a Parselmouth?" asked Triton, regarding Albus with fear.

"NO!" Albus shouted, pushing his tears back. He was absolutely furious. Did everybody—even complete fools like Triton—suspect him of being a Dark Wizard? Albus faltered in his thoughts, wondering if he was. _Dark Magic has always intrigued me, _Albus realized. _But I wouldn't use it... right?_

"Calm down, Al," Harry said. He turned to Triton. "Gale, I'm sure this was the first time Al used it."

"How did he get it?" Uncle Ron wondered, looking shaken. "I mean—_you_ can't do it anymore, Harry."

"I can't," Harry agreed. "So I can't have passed the ability onto Al."

"B-But what does it m-mean?" Albus stuttered. "The Runespoors! How d-did they get here?"

The adults in the room exchanged nervous looks. Finally, Irving spoke. He looked very worried, too, and his ice-blue eyes searched Albus' expression closely. "Potter, they said something to you... what was it?"

Albus paled. "Uh—they said something about Prey..." He trailed off. Irving looked utterly horrified for a moment, but he recovered himself and reassumed his nonchalant position.

Neville said, "What should we do, Harry? We need to alert the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Chizpurfles, Doxies, and Hagrid said something about a Tebo. And now we've seen the worst so far—a Runespoor."

Albus remembered something. "There was a Pogrebin, too. It was following Rose, Scorpius, and me when we were going to Hagrid's hut."

Harry nodded. "That's five different magical creatures. I'll send a message to Drake Edgeworth, the Head of the department, right away."

"Where are all these things coming from, anyways?" Uncle Ron demanded.

Irving said, almost in passing, "Perhaps they have something to do with the attack on Eric Derlwin and the writing on the wall..."

Everybody stared at Irving, Albus included. The idea had not occurred to him, but what if Irving was right? The horrible message was still there, for nobody was able to erase it. He tried to remember what had been written there. It had mentioned something about a 'Realm' and 'Prey.' Hadn't the Runespoors mentioned 'Prey,' too?

Harry seemed to be deep in thought. "I think you might be right, Luke. I need to get back to the Ministry now in order to launch an investigation as soon as possible."

"What about the boy?" Triton asked harshly, gesturing to Albus, who glowered.

Albus, relieved that nobody was accusing him, let go of his father and said, "Should I go back to the Slytherin common room?"

"Go on," Harry said, nodding. Albus turned to leave, but to his surprise, Uncle Ron stopped him.

"Wait a moment, Al," Uncle Ron said quickly. "Remember the kid dark essence? You said that you wanted to ask Al if he's seen anything funny."

Harry seemed to remember something. "Oh, yeah, I did. Albus, I told you that the Ministry was hunting a dark essence in the form of a kid around sixteen or seventeen years old. Well, he or she could be anywhere in the world, but if he or she's in Hogwarts, then they'll be coming from Slytherin House—" Harry faltered at the expression of anger on Albus' face.

"Oh," Albus said furiously. "Because all Dark Wizards come from Slytherin, don't they?"

"Yeah, they do," Uncle Ron muttered under his breath.

Albus' eyes flashed. The dark sensation took over him again, and he smirked. "Well, there's one powerful person that I know: a seventh year—Vladimir Rylon. He's the Captain of Slytherin's Dueling Team One. But I don't know whether he's a Dark Wizard."

Everyone froze. "What?" Professor Moore asked.

"Makes sense," Professor Patil said. "I didn't think someone could be so powerful. But I seriously doubt that he's the dark _essence_ that you're looking for. He looks pretty human to me."

Irving narrowed his eyes as he looked at Albus. "I didn't think someone could be as powerful as _you_, Potter. You're far more powerful than Rylon... and you're a second year."

Everyone was silent.

"What?" Albus spluttered, the dark sensation went away, leaving him tired. "You're looking for a sixth or seventh year, aren't you? And I'm not more powerful than he is! He beat me—" Albus stopped talking, embarrassed.

Harry's face was very pale, but he pulled up a weak smile. "Of course you're not. Maybe it's time for you to go now, Al." This was his cue to leave, and Albus gladly did so. He hurried back to the Slytherin common room, excited to tell Scorpius what he had just learned.

"Why do you look so happy?" Scorpius demanded once Albus had returned to the Slytherin common room.

Albus' good mood left him as quickly as it had come. Everyone was staring at him with suspicion. Rylon, however, was smiling. Albus being a Parselmouth gave him a lesser chance of getting the throne back, since he would supposedly be giving Slytherin a worse name than it already had.

Albus tried to think positively, but Scorpius didn't give him the chance. "You're a Parselmouth, and you didn't tell me."

"I-I didn't know!" Albus said indignantly.

Scorpius sighed. "Fine, I believe you. You looked really surprised back in the Great Hall, anyways. That was really creepy, though. It looked like you were asking it to attack your father, or something."

Albus choked on his breath. "What? _WHAT_?_"_

Scorpius shrugged. "But you weren't doing that, were you?"

"_No, I wasn't_!_"_ Albus gasped, his voice cracking. "I wouldn't ever—does everyone think that?"

"Pretty much," Scorpius said unhelpfully. "James looked close to murdering you."

"That's nothing new," Albus muttered under his breath. "But Dad knows that I wouldn't hurt him. He believes me. They're going to alert the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. But other than that, they're not really doing anything."

"Okay...," Scorpius said, looking uninterested.

"There's more," Albus said, the smile returning to his face. "Uncle Ron asked me if I'd seen a powerful Dark Wizard—he used the words 'kid dark essence' (not that I know what that means), and I told him that it could be Rylon."

Scorpius looked utterly gleeful. "Going to blackmail him now, threaten him that if he doesn't step down, you'll rat him out?"

"I don't know," Albus sighed. "I mean, what's the point? I've already done too much to get the throne back. I don't even know why I told them about Rylon." Albus paused, remembering the dark sensation that had taken over him.

"Come on!" Scorpius grumbled. "Where's the Slytherin?"

Albus glared at him. "All right. I'll watch him, and then I'll strike. He won't disobey me if I'm blackmailing him. But first, I need to find him doing Dark Magic. The Aurors aren't going to bother with him until they have concrete proof."

"Going to spy on him?"

"Exactly. It's time to get out the Invisibility Cloak that Dad gave me."

* * *

The next few days continued normally. Albus had indeed gotten out his Invisibility Cloak and had trailed Rylon, but hadn't been able to catch Rylon doing anything wrong. Like Albus himself, Rylon was very paranoid and kept glancing over his shoulder. He always seemed to be able to feel that someone was following him, though Albus didn't know how he had figured it out.

The whole school was determined to chase Albus out, and he could barely take three steps without someone telling him to get out of Hogwarts. It was only Rose and Scorpius' trust in him that kept him fighting. But, to his delight, he learned that Elina was continuing to believe him.

"I've been trying to convince James not to kill you," Elina said during their Potions/Acting class. "But he still thinks that you told the Runespoor to attack your father."

"I didn't," Albus said angrily.

"Of course you didn't," Elina assured him. She gripped his hand, making him feel dizzy.

"Thanks," he whispered. He only then noticed how close they were. Apparently, Elina seemed to notice this as well, because she let go of Albus' hand and looked back at her Potions textbook, her cheeks pink.

The bell rang a few minutes later, and the Gryffindors and Slytherins left Heartley's classroom and arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Two hours later, the classes were over for the day. Albus and Scorpius dragged themselves to the dungeons, thinking about the essays that they had to write.

To their surprise, they walked straight into a fight. Gerald Erwett, the first year who idolized Albus, was being bullied by the thugs.

"Let him go!" snarled Albus, taking out his wand and pointing it at the thugs at the same time that Scorpius did.

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" the lead thug sneered.

"You should be. Magical prodigies are standing right in front of you," said Scorpius cockily, twirling his wand.

Gerald shook his head, but a smirk broke out on his face. Albus wondered what he was thinking. The question was answered at that moment. "Professor Moore, help me!" he shouted.

The thugs turned around, alarmed. There was no Professor Moore. A split second later, Gerald was already running through the dungeons at top speed, snickering. Albus smirked. He had done the same thing himself last year to trick the bullies. It seemed that all Slytherins had the same brilliance.

"Looks like you all just got outsmarted by a first year," said Albus.

"It's not that great of an achievement, honestly. I think a one-year-old could outsmart you without even thinking," Scorpius jeered.

The lead thug gritted his teeth and lunged at them with the rest of his thugs, but a few blasts, bright lights, and squeals later, all dozen of the thugs were lying on the ground with various disfigurements. Albus and Scorpius smirked, waved, and strolled through the dungeons, leaving the thugs there.

"That was brilliant of Gerald," said Scorpius appreciatively. Gerald was one of the few people in the school remaining who trusted Albus. They caught up with the first year and congratulated him, and Albus clapped him on the back. Night fell, and the rain relentlessly howled. Albus, exhausted, stumbled into his bed, hoping for a normal dream.

* * *

Two people were facing each other. A woman and a man. The woman had long, light brown hair and sharp blue-violet eyes. Behind her was a huge group of people in emerald-green cloaks. The man had dark, cropped hair and ice-blue eyes. Behind him was a huge group of people in blood-red cloaks.

"Myrinda Lyon, when will you stop trying?" asked the man, chuckling. "You and your Regiment will not win. My Regiment has the Paradox on our side. You are fighting a lost battle."

The woman's eyes glinted. "That is where you are wrong, Luke Irving. We will keep fighting against you and your cruel Regiment, no matter what." She whipped out her wand and pointed it had the man.

Then, with a flash of light and a bang, the battle started. The red-cloaked wizards mixed with the green-cloaked wizards, and the area was lit with multicolored lights. In the very middle were the man and the woman, fighting like lions.

"Time to give up. We will destroy the world, and you cannot stop us," the man said, sending a blazing hex toward the woman.

The woman blocked it easily and growled, "You may think that you are winning, but you are wrong. The new prophecy has been spoken. Another Paradox will be born, and he will be on our side! While your Paradox will destroy the world, ours will _save_ it!"

The man looked horrified, but tried to hide it. "Then we will have to destroy the world before he has the chance!" He redoubled his efforts, and the man and the woman were lost in the crowd of fighters.

* * *

Albus' head was spinning. He couldn't remember their exact dialogue, but the two people in his dream had seemed strangely familiar... And hadn't one of them said something about a _second_ Paradox...?

_Don't be silly,_ he thought. It was a dream. A nightmare.

Then why had it seemed so real?

* * *

**Author's Note: Oh dear, Albus is a Parselmouth! How could it be? Hint: The reason for Albus being a Parselmouth will be explained in a future story, and it has nothing to do with Harry.**


	11. The Occamy Army

**-Chapter Eleven-**

**The Occamy Army**

The day of the Slytherin versus Gryffindor Quidditch match dawned stormy just like every other day of that year. Albus, feeling extremely ill, dragged himself to the Great Hall. The magical ceiling of the Great Hall was taking a beating, and lightning flashed across the enchanted sky. Rain pattered on the windows, and the wind made a pitiful howling noise.

It wasn't very auspicious. Desperately needing someone to supply him with a sick bucket, Albus sat down at the Slytherin table. The mood was very gloomy, and nobody really had high hopes to win in the current weather. Albus turned around to watch the Gryffindors. James looked a bit nervous, too, and he kept eying the ceiling of the Great Hall, clearly worried about the violent weather.

The seven Slytherin players and the seven Gryffindor players left the Great Hall at the same time. They made their ways to the separate changing rooms. Albus was close to fainting again. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to beat his brother again.

"Do your best!" said Hemley once they had all finished changing into their emerald and green Quidditch robes. "Uh—and try to kill the Gryffindors. Play as dirty as possible. That's all. Let's head out." Holding their brooms, the seven players walked out onto the Quidditch pitch. It was pouring, and many umbrellas were visible among the crowd. Everyone except for the Slytherins booed loudly at the Slytherin team's arrival. A few moments later, the Gryffindors walked out. They were greeted with deafening cheering. Many people were shouting James' name in approval.

Albus scowled. The Slytherins and the Gryffindors stood in front of each other, sizing each other up. James made a very rude hand gesture at Albus, who gladly returned it.

Madam Hooch strolled onto the pitch and said, "All right, Captains, shake hands." Olivia Wood and Hemley did so, glaring at each other and squeezing rather harder than was necessary. "Good. Let it begin!" She opened the chest and let the Bludgers and the Snitch out. Then she blew her whistle, and they were off.

Albus flew into the rain, trying not to get blown away. The wind was buffeting into him with the strength of an anvil, and he was finding it difficult to fly. What was more, the water droplets splattered onto his glasses, making it impossible for him to see. Forget the Snitch—he wasn't even able to spot the players in this mess.

Finally, he got in control of his broom and flew around the pitch. He pulled his wand from his robes and said, "_Impervious!" _It was easier to see, though it didn't help all that much. Albus spotted James circling the pitch, too.

"And Olivia Wood from Gryffindor gets the Quaffle," said Richie Red, one of James' prankster friends, from the commentator box. "She's zooming through the pitch, heading for the goals! It's hard to see—where did she go? Oh yeah, found her. She aims, she scores! Hemley, the Slytherin Keeper and Captain, misses! He's a loser, just like all Slytherins. It wasn't hard at all. Ten to nil, Gryffindor!"

Albus gritted his teeth and doubled his efforts to find the Snitch. The rain pounded down on the pitch even harder, making the conditions unbearable. Even Richie Red had to stop commentating because he couldn't see properly. Albus now virtually had no clue what was going on in the game.

Then he heard a strangled screeching noise. It was so loud that it seemed to vibrate through the pitch. It sent shivers down Albus' spine, and he halted, alarmed. What was happening?

"What was that?" Richie Red said into the magical microphone, sounding confused and worried.

Albus squinted through the heavy rain, seeing blurry silhouettes emerging from it. The screeching reached a higher pitch, tearing at Albus' eardrums. The foggy figures suddenly became clearer as they approached him, and Albus' heart nearly stopped.

There were nearly fifty of them. They were huge, fifteen-foot-long serpents. That wasn't all. They had feathery plumes that enabled them to fly, and their eyes blazed with fury. They swooped through the pitch, emitting the same screeching noise.

Albus let out a yell and backed away on his broom, his heart pounding frantically. If they were serpents, he should be able to understand them. Albus could barely hear them through the pounding of the rain, but if he concentrated...

"_Prey. Prey. Prey."_

Albus' mind reeled.

"What are those things?" James whispered from behind him, his eyes widened in shock. Albus whirled around in surprise, not having seen him.

Chaos reigned. The people below were screaming and running off the pitch toward the entrance of the school, but the strange flying serpents did not let them. They flapped their wings and and wreaked havoc, destroying a huge part of the stands.

Then the plumed serpents spotted the two brothers suspended in the air.

"_Prey. Prey. Prey."_

"GO!" Albus shouted. The brothers shot off through the pitch, the serpents hot on their tail.

They both saw the Snitch at the same time. It was there, hovering a few feet below them, its tiny wings fluttering bravely against the cruel wind and rain. The two brothers turned rivals locked eyes with each other. They both dove for the Snitch at the same time. Alarmed, the Snitch sped off, its miniscule wings flapping quicker and harder in order to escape from its pursuers.

Albus pushed his broom harder, and so did James. They were neck and neck, the serpents screeching madly behind them. Albus did not take his eyes off the Snitch. He forgot about the serpents and the fact that everyone on the pitch was in danger. His ears blocked out the screams of the students, the shouts of the staff, and the screeches of the fifteen-foot-long winged serpents. The only thing he was aware of was the Snitch and his brother.

Albus reached out with his left hand, and James reached out with his right hand. Then, quite suddenly, James spiraled away. Albus' hand closed around the Golden Snitch, and then something with the force of a hundred Bludgers hurled into his side.

Albus was knocked off the broom more than fifty feet above the ground. He felt himself falling, and blearily wondered whether every Quidditch match would end this way for him.

Then he stopped an inch above the ground. He was suspended in the air, his nose barely touching the blades of grass, before the magic holding him was released, and he fell to the ground with a gasp.

"Get up!" yelled Irving, pulling Albus to his feet. "Run! Get to the castle! The flying serpents are Occamies!" Irving raised his wand and aimed it at an Occamy. The plumed serpent was blasted backwards a few yards, though the spell did not hinder it much.

"WHAT DID I SAY?" Irving thundered. "RUN!"

Something seemed to work in Albus' stupefied mind at the urgency in Irving's voice, and he pocketed the Snitch he had caught. He ran across the pitch, his shoes throwing up mud as he ran. Albus kept slipping and sliding across the wet ground, unable to keep a firm grip on it.

Then he tripped. Albus threw his hands out in order to stop himself from landing face first into the mud, but that did not stop it from splattering all over him. He turned his head around to see what was happening to Irving and the rest of the staff, and suddenly wished that he hadn't.

All fifty of the Occamies were zooming towards _him._ Every single one of them. He let out a strangled squeak and hurried to his feet, unsure how he had managed to get up from the slippery mud. Deciding not to question it, Albus sped off toward the castle with the other students.

This made no sense. Where had they come from? Why were they all chasing after _him_?

He pushed himself harder, taking out his wand and whispering, "_Accelero." _The charm made him run faster, and soon he was nothing but a blur on the grounds. He threw another look over his shoulder, hoping that he had imagined the whole army of Occamies coming after him.

He hadn't imagined it. Even now, they were zooming after him, not bothered by the rain. Their eyes were beady and black, and all fifty pairs were locked on Albus. Even more horrified than before, Albus tried running harder. The doors of the castle were getting closer... only a few more seconds...

"_Prey. Prey. Prey."_

Albus threw himself into the castle. All of the students sheltered inside the entrance hall screamed as some of the screeching Occamies flew in after him, murder in their black eyes.

"_Prey. Prey. Prey."_

Why had the Occamies followed him in? Did they want him _that_ badly?

"_Prey. Prey. Prey."_

"_Impedimenta!"_ Albus roared, pointing his wand at the Occamies. The strength of his spell blasted the first few backwards, but it did not stop them. They pushed forward, destroying the entrance hall and scattering the suits of armor and portraits as if they were insignificant toys.

The students screamed. Albus could see James with his broom among them—evidently he and the other players had landed and gone inside the castle, which clearly wasn't safe anymore.

At that moment, the staff from outside poured in and began to shoot spells at the Occamies.

"It's me they want!" Albus shouted.

He turned back to the students and saw that they were staring at him in fury and fear.

"You're controlling them, aren't you?" James yelled over the howling wind and the Occamies' screeching.

_What? _How had James come to that conclusion? But James' accusation had given Albus an idea. The professors weren't able to take down the Occamies—there were simply too many.

"Somebody needs to alert the Ministry! They're trained to deal with creatures like this!" gasped Neville, waving his wand. His Stunner hit an Occamy's wing, though it did nothing whatsoever.

Would Albus' plan work? He faced the Occamies, and they all saw the deadly glint in his eyes. The dark sensation took over him again, and he hissed, "_Stop! Stop, or I'll kill you." _All of the professors and the students stared at him in shock, and he knew that he was speaking Parseltongue again.

The Occamies paused, confused. They regarded him fearfully. He was a skinny twelve-year-old with untidy hair and crooked glasses, but there was a dark power within him, and they could sense it. They could not stop him... but they had to try.

"_Leave us alone," _Albus hissed, not caring that everyone was staring at him in fear. What did they think of him? Surely, what he had just done had proved James right.

"_Prey. Prey. Prey." _

His plan hadn't worked. They leapt at him, looking crazed and desperate. He jumped aside, the dark sensation leaving him. It was replaced with exhaustion, and he felt dizzy. His vision blurred, and he tried not to collapse. But his legs could not support him, and he sunk to the floor.

The Occamies reared backwards for a moment, ready to impale him on their many sharp teeth. Albus covered his head with his hands, knowing that it would not help.

Then the Ministry workers arrived with a bang_._ The whole entrance hall was blasted apart by the force of their spells, and the Occamies were taken by surprise. Screeching and sobbing with failure, they thrashed around as ropes bound them to the ground, ripping their great wings.

"_Prey. Prey. Prey." _

Albus removed his hands from his face to see the Ministry workers standing triumphantly by the army of the Occamies, a man that Albus recognized at their head. It was Drake Edgeworth, the powerful and popular Head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

"Everyone should go to the Great Hall to await further news," Edgeworth said. "As for you, little Slytherin, you'll be coming with us."

Albus gasped, "N-No! I-I didn't—it w-wasn't m-me!"

Edgeworth shook his head. "I never trusted you, you know. Ever since I saw you on at your father's Ministry birthday party. And now, you're a Parseltongue and you were controlling the Occamies, but they must have gotten out of your hands."

"IT WASN'T ME!" Albus screamed at the top of his voice. His eyes flashed sinisterly. Edgeworth and his colleagues stepped backwards, suddenly looking scared.

Albus felt murderous. The dark sensation took over him again, and he stepped forward. "_You're an idiot,"_ he snarled right to Edgeworth's face. "Why would I be controlling them if they were all coming after me? Why don't you think before accusing the first Slytherin in sight?"

Albus met Edgeworth's hazel eyes, and saw that they were blazing with hatred. He had just made an enemy—an enemy that was sure to become the Minister of Magic one day. _Uh-oh. _The dark sensation went away, and Albus felt dazed and tired again.

"What's the meaning of this?" somebody shouted from behind Albus. There were rapid footsteps. Albus' father, Uncle Ron, and several more Aurors came running onto the scene.

"We came by Floo powder," Uncle Ron explained to Edgeworth hurriedly.

Edgeworth ignored Uncle Ron and curled his lip as he looked at Harry. "Your son has attacked the school by using Parseltongue. He has been disrespectful—"

"How dare you?" Albus' father snarled. "How dare you accuse him?"

"Stop being biased, Potter," snapped Edgeworth. "He's a Slytherin. He's a powerful wizard and a Parselmouth. It's time you started looking at the _real_ threat!"

Harry froze. Every adult became rigid and regarded Albus with shock—professors, Aurors, and Edgeworth's lot included. Albus, utterly confused, gave his father a questioning look.

"I-It's not him," Harry insisted, though his voice faltered. "Leave him alone, Edgeworth. What happened today wasn't Al's fault."

"It was! I saw him! He was practically glowing with evil!" James said loudly from the crowd of students. Several of them nodded in agreement.

"James," Harry said warningly, and his oldest son shut up.

He turned next to his youngest son, who was close to tears. "Al, no one blames you. Come on, let's go to the Headmaster's Office. You can tell us the story then." He put his arm around Albus' shoulders comfortingly and led him to the gargoyle which guarded Triton's office. The rest of the adults followed, giving Albus suspicious looks.

Triton was already there. Albus fumed once more. Had Triton been sitting at his desk the whole time that the school had been in trouble? And _Albus_ was being blamed! He had the savage urge to use his wand to jinx both Triton and Edgeworth into jelly.

The dark sensation consumed him for a third time, and he glowed bright green very briefly. The light was so quick that you would have missed it if you blinked, but everyone seemed to see it. They all stepped backwards. Then the dark feeling left him for a third time. He stumbled, suddenly very sleepy.

Harry seemed to recover from Albus' glowing. "Tell me what h-happened," his father said, his voice shaking slightly.

Albus remembered something. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the Golden Snitch. Its wings were fluttering half-heartedly now. "Um—I caught it."

Everybody stared. He slipped the Snitch back into his pocket and told them what had happened. He told them that he had been trying to stop the Occamies, and that they had been going after him.

Fortunately, Neville chose this moment to speak. "He's telling the truth. I saw them. They didn't care much about the rest of us. They just shot toward him from the start."

Edgeworth's face contorted with fury. "B-But—he's _dangerous,_ damn it—"

"He hasn't done anything wrong!" Harry said furiously. "You will not point fingers—"

"ENOUGH!" Triton yelled. He looked angry. "We have already agreed that what has happened today is not Mr. Potter's fault. Whether he is dangerous or not is beside the point."

Albus was surprised at Triton's support.

"Can I go back?" Albus asked. He felt very tired, and the only thing he wanted to do was sleep. He knew that James, Rylon, and the rest of the school would be after him, but he simply wanted the day to end. Anything was better than staying here and watching his father fight with idiots like Edgeworth.

"Yes, you can," Harry agreed. "Remember, we know that you didn't do this, all right?"

Albus nodded unconvincingly. He began to go out, but a hand stopped him. It was Irving. "Your broomstick," Irving said coldly, thrusting Albus' Firebolt at him. Albus took it quietly, not looking at Irving as he thanked him.

Then Albus left. He waited for a few seconds by the door. All was silent, and then the adults started talking. He had made his decision. He was going to eavesdrop. He had to know what was going on, and they weren't going to tell him otherwise. He pressed his ear against the door, hoping that they would be too busy in their conversation to catch him listening to them.


	12. Monster

**-Chapter Twelve-**

**Monster**

Albus listened from behind the door of the Headmaster's Office, his heart beating loudly.

"This is mad!" Neville said. "Occamies don't just come out of nowhere in mobs!"

"Well, nothing's really been behaving this year," Uncle Ron pointed out.

"The thing that's the heart of this is the boy—I tell you—" Edgeworth began hotly.

"Al had nothing to do with this—" Albus' father snapped.

"But he did," said Irving quietly. Albus strained his ears to hear more. "He has been present in every one of the incidents: the Chizpurfles, the Pogrebin, the Tebo, the Doxies, the Runespoor, and now the Occamies. It is not a coincidence."

Everyone was silent. Albus choked on his breath and froze, wondering if he had given himself away.

"So, that means that the magical creatures are after him!" Harry said. "He's not behind all of this! Someone's trying to hurt him!"

Ron agreed. "Yeah, you've got it mixed up, Drake."

Though Albus could not see him, he could imagine Edgeworth seething.

"Very well, I see. I will stay at Hogwarts in order to figure out what's happening here. The Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is taking action. One boy—Mr. Eric Derlwin, was it?—was sent to his slow death. The school has been attacked by monsters, and none of these creatures are behaving as they should. We will get to the bottom of this," said Edgeworth.

"And what about Al? He's in danger!" asked Harry.

"Your son will have to fend for himself. We need to use him as bait. He'll lead us to the heart of this mystery," Edgeworth replied.

Albus let out a small gasp. So did his father.

"No! I'm not putting Al in danger—"

"Well then, tell me, Head Auror," Edgeworth said, almost sarcastically. "What else should we do? Are you willing to sacrifice the rest of the school in order to keep your son safe? And—let's face it—there's something wrong with that boy."

There was a murmur of agreement. Albus felt cold all over.

"All right," Harry finally said.

Albus stepped backwards and walked off. He didn't want to listen to anything else. He was going to be used as bait. Did he want to be used as bait? _No, I don't._ Did he have a choice if he wanted to save Hogwarts from the monstrous threat? _No, I don't. _

As if he was in a trance, Albus walked toward the place where Derlwin had been 'attacked.' The shadowy letters on the wall were still there—nobody had been able to get rid of them. He read the words.

_Prey. _He was the Prey. The creatures had been ordered to kill him—but _who_ had ordered them? Hoffman was dead.

Then Albus vaguely remembered something he had heard many months ago. He had overheard a conversation between two people in his first year, and they had been discussing killing him. Hoffman had certainly been one of those two people—but the second person was still alive and at Hogwarts.

Albus felt very sick all of a sudden.

The whole school was gathered in the Great Hall for lunch, though nobody was eating. The staff table was empty. Evidently, the meeting in Triton's office hadn't finished yet. Everyone stared at Albus as he walked to the Slytherin table. He could sense the tension and the suspicion in the air, and everyone at his House table shied away from him as he sat down.

To Albus' relief, Scorpius was already sitting there. Albus tried to speak, but nothing came out. Scorpius didn't say anything to him, either. Nobody spoke to him, and Albus pushed the gravy around on his plate, not having any intention to eat it.

A few minutes later, the staff came in with Edgeworth, Albus' father, and Uncle Ron. Everyone watched as Triton sat down in the middle of the staff table and cleared his throat. It was unnecessary—he already had everyone's attention.

"Now, I know that you are all shaken about what happened this morning..." Triton trailed off, and his eyes wandered toward Albus, who sunk into his seat. "But, we assure you that it will not happen again. As of now, Drake Edgeworth," he gestured toward Edgeworth, who smiled toothily, "will be staying at the school to investigate the source of these attacks—"

To Albus' horror, James stood up. He looked completely furious, and even worse, there was a determined glint in his eyes. He pointed accusingly at Albus and said, "It was him! It was his fault! He was controlling the flying snakes—he hissed at them, but they didn't listen to him! You should have seen him—he was oozing evil! I could feel it from ages and ages away!"

Albus stood up, too. He felt angry enough to pulverize James right there and then, and he knew he could do it. "_No,"_ he hissed. "It wasn't me. You must be the stupidest person on Earth to think that. They were chasing me—"

"—then you should get out!" James yelled. He looked close to tears. Albus had never seen him like this. "We all could have died! And you're putting everyone in danger!"

Albus stepped backwards, shocked. James wasn't accusing Albus because he hated him. He was accusing Albus because he was worried about the school. It was at that moment that Albus realized that James was King of Hogwarts for one reason: he loved Hogwarts as much as Albus did.

Perhaps the two brothers had more similarities than they had previously thought.

"Y-You're wrong," Albus said, his voice shaking. "I d-didn't have anything to d-do with this!" He faltered, remembering what he had overheard in the Headmaster's Office. He had _everything_ to do with the attacks. All of it was his fault.

Albus stared at everybody, and he could see the loathing in their faces. He wasn't just the school loser anymore. He was a freak and he was a threat. He was a _monster_.

Albus couldn't stand it anymore. He ran from the Great Hall. He could hear his father shouting behind him, begging him to stop running, but Albus did not look back. He didn't want to be there. He wanted to be anywhere, _anywhere_ else. He wanted to be anyone but himself.

He knew that he was glowing. Albus shone brighter and brighter green, and he felt that dark sensation growing within him. He was only a bright green blur as he ran along the corridor, wanting to get away. But he couldn't run any farther. The invincible feeling of the dark power inside him had turned into pain, and he felt like he was being torn into two.

Albus fell to the ground, gasping with pain. He was glowing brighter, and he could hear footsteps behind him. Apparently, his father, the professors, and the Ministry workers had run after him. Albus let out another gasp as his vision blurred. The only color he could see was bright green, and he knew it was coming from him.

"Al! What happened—what the hell?" his father spluttered, stopping a few yards away from Albus.

Albus felt that feeling of being torn from the inside again, and it hurt so badly that he shouted out. _What's happening to me? Make it stop..._

"AL! What's going on—?"

"Merlin—he's glowing! He's _glowing_!_"_

"Somebody needs to take the kid to the Hospital Wing—"

Then the pain inside him reached its peak, and Albus knew only knew the oblivion of darkness.

* * *

A man and woman were once more facing each other. This time, they were alone. The man was sobbing. "I am sorry, Myrinda. I have seen what the Paradox is capable of. What he is doing is not right. The world cannot be destroyed..."

"I see you have joined the right side, then, Luke," said the woman in a cold voice. "Well, I must say, it has been for no reason. We are losing. The Paradox is too powerful, and the new Paradox that the prophecy promised is not due to come until a thousand years later."

"Then we keep fighting," said the man. "I will be by your side." He took the woman's hand and stared into her eyes. "It is time that we stopped fighting against each other and started fighting _together_."

The woman smiled.

* * *

Albus had no idea where he was. He could feel soft sheets around him, and suddenly realized that he must be in the Hospital Wing. He could hear urgent whispering nearby him. Wanting to hear what it was about, he kept his eyes closed and feigned sleep.

"Another attack like Mr. Derlwin's. This one's on a first year. Gerald Erwett from Slytherin, isn't it?" Albus recognized the voice. It belonged to Professor Patil.

"What does this mean?" asked Neville.

"It means that Dark Magic has returned to Hogwarts," said Irving gravely.

"Where have Harry and Ron gone?" asked Neville. "They should hear about this."

"They left for the Ministry," answered Triton harshly. "Edgeworth is still here. Someone should go get him."

"I'll do it," piped up Professor Moore.

"How's Al?" Neville asked once Moore had left.

Madam Pomfrey answered this time. "He's fine. He stopped glowing a few hours ago. The Department of Mysteries has been sending owls about coming to see him and test him, but I refused. Mr. Potter needs his rest."

"Having the whole school hating him isn't exactly good for his mental health," added Triton. He sounded almost amused.

"I'm worried, though. So is Harry. Al's such a strange boy..." Neville trailed off.

"Obviously," Irving hissed.

"We need to use him," said Neville, trying to convince himself. "Like Edgeworth said, he's at the heart of everything. I know Al would never hurt the school, but somebody's clearly trying to hurt him."

Albus heard footsteps. "I put Mr. Erwett on his bed. I don't think he'll survive. There is no known way to wake him. I'll send an owl to his parents. They should be here this morning," Madam Pomfrey explained.

There were more footsteps. "What's this I hear about another attack?" demanded Edgeworth.

"Luke here just walked in on the body. There aren't any scratches, so he wasn't attacked by monsters. He's in a coma, just like Mr. Derlwin," Madam Pomfrey said.

"It's the kid's fault," said Edgeworth angrily. "Potter's too blind to see it. He's too much of a father to see that his son's the one who's endangering us all. One look at the boy and you can see that he's a _monster_—"

"Enough," Neville said. "Al never did anything wrong. I've known him since he's been in diapers. Admittedly, he's always been odd, but he's not a monster."

_Am I? _Albus wondered.

"Let's all return to our bedchambers. Tomorrow morning, we'll explain to Mr. Erwett's parents, and you can speak to Mr. Potter then," said Triton bracingly to Edgeworth.

"Very well. Hopefully, the boy—if you can call him human—won't end up destroying the whole school by then," said Edgeworth darkly.

The footsteps retreated, and Albus knew that he was alone. He closed his eyes. He was a freak. He was a monster. Edgeworth and James were right. Albus was endangering Hogwarts.

_I have to fix this, _Albus thought as he sunk back into sleep.

* * *

Albus opened his eyes blearily, and he could feel that it was early morning. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up, trying to make sense of his blurry surroundings. The events of last night came rushing back to him, and he felt rather sick. He reached for his glasses and pushed them on, relieved that he was able to see again. He grabbed his wand and shoved it into his pocket. Then he looked to the beds beside him. Curtains had been set up over the victims' beds, hiding Gerald and Derlwin from his view.

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey walked in. She looked surprised to see him awake. "Oh, Mr. Potter, you're awake. I'll call Mr. Edgeworth in—he wants to talk to you."

Albus gritted his teeth, but nodded anyways. He wanted to give Edgeworth a piece of his mind after what the man had said about him last night. A few minutes later, the door to the Hospital Wing creaked open and Edgeworth walked in.

"_Al,_ m'boy," he said jovially, waving his hand.

"D-Don't call me 'Al,'" Albus said quietly. His gaze was ice-cold, and he glared at Edgeworth with something that resembled the deepest hatred.

Edgeworth flinched. "Ah, yes, well... After the rather—ah—_unfortunate_ event yesterday, the school has been talking about you quite a bit."

Albus simply scowled. Was this supposed to make him feel better?

"But don't worry!" Edgeworth continued. "Nobody's accusing you at all!"

_You're accusing me, _Albus thought. He decided it was the perfect time to play games with the soon-to-be Minister of Magic. "Y-You don't trust me, do you?"

Edgeworth looked a bit nervous. "Of course I do! You said yourself that you were being chased by the Occamies. There's no way that you're behind this."

"But y-you still don't trust me. You hate me. Then why are you t-talking to me now? Why not just chuck me in Azkaban and have d-done with it?" Albus continued, his voice shaking slightly.

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes. "You will not speak to me like this, Potter. Clearly, your father did not teach you manners. Do you know who I am?"

"He taught me to speak my mind," Albus said simply, the stutter disappearing. He wasn't scared of Edgeworth. "And I know who you are: You're nothing but a so-called upstart who wants power, but can't get it because Dad has it instead."

Edgeworth turned red with fury. He looked like he wanted to yell, but Albus did not let him.

"The only reason that you're speaking to me now and being nice is because you want to be Minister of Magic. Dad's a famous war hero that saved the whole wizarding world. You already know that he doesn't like you, so you're desperate. If he says one word against you, your whole campaign is over."

"You—you—" Edgeworth spluttered like a dying vehicle.

"I don't think he's going to fall for your stupid tricks," Albus said, his voice not faltering. He smirked. "Now, I really don't want to hear what you want to say to me. I'm leaving, and you're not going to stop me whether you're the Head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures or not. That's all you'll be." Albus had not stuttered once.

He kicked his sheets away, swung his legs off the bed, stood up, and simply walked out of the room.

"You haven't won yet, Potter," snarled Edgeworth. Speech had returned to him at last. "You're a disrespectful brat, that's what you are, and you'll be locked up in Azkaban—or worse—soon enough. You're the dark essence that we're looking for. I know it. You may look like a human on the outside, but you're a _monster_ on the inside."

Albus froze. His voice trembled as he said, "_N-No_!" With those words, he whirled back around and stumbled through the door.

He kept going through the quiet halls of the sleeping school, only wanting to get back to the dungeons. He hated Edgeworth with a burning passion, and Albus was sure that Edgeworth hated him just as much.

_Monster. Monster. Monster._

Was he a monster? He _couldn't_ be the dark essence that the Ministry was looking for! Albus was completely human! He had flesh, blood, and bones. There was no way that he could be a dark essence—what _was_ that, anyways?

He was going to prove to Edgeworth that he was completely innocent. He was going to find the person who was attacking him and expose him or her, and perhaps he would finally be seen as the hero—instead of the loser.

He finally reached the dungeons, took out his wand, and said, "_Monstrarad serpentem_." His wand rose in the air and pointed to the path to his immediate left. He took it and followed it, eventually reaching the concealed entrance to the Slytherin common room. He pressed his wand into the small hole in the wall in front of him, and it slid aside.

He walked inside, his heart beating frantically. To his relief, the common room appeared empty. Then he saw a figure moving by the fireplace. Albus stopped, surprised.

It was Vladimir Rylon. The seventh-year looked a bit frantic, and he was desperately paging through a book in his hands. At that very moment, a letter fell out of the fireplace, barely missing the greenish flames. Both Albus and Rylon jumped. Rylon reached up and caught the letter, gulping.

Albus stared as Rylon opened up the letter. His eyes widened as he read the letter, and he dropped the book. Albus inched closer, wanting to see what was written in the letter.

"Yes...," Rylon whispered. A look of glee crossed his face. "_Yes..._" He threw the letter back into the fire, where it shriveled, now unreadable. Albus groaned silently. Rylon seized the book he had dropped and headed towards Albus, evidently wanting to leave the common room. Both boys froze, sizing each other up.

"You!" Rylon snarled. He clutched the book to his chest. Albus could only make out one word on the cover: _Darke._

"Where are you going?" Albus asked quietly. "Who was that letter from?"

"Get out of my way!" Rylon shouted, looking a bit crazed. He pushed Albus away and took off running.

Albus struggled with himself for a split second and knew what he had to do. Rylon was up to something, and it wasn't good. Albus ran after him, using the Accelerating Charm to make himself go faster. To Albus' fury, Rylon did it to himself, too, and soon he had rounded a corner.

Albus reached it, panting. Rylon wasn't there anymore. There was no way that Albus could find him in the maze of the dungeons. Cursing, Albus returned to the common room. Rylon had nearly been in his grasp, but Albus had lost him in the end.

Defeated, he went into the dormitory he shared with Scorpius and Oswald. Oswald was sucking his thumb and clutching a stuffed-toy version of a serpent, but Scorpius was lying awake.

"I was wondering when you'd get back," Scorpius said, facing the ceiling.

"I had a nice little conversation with Drake Edgeworth," Albus growled. "If he becomes Minister of Magic, I'm packing and getting out of Britain."

Scorpius snickered. Then he frowned, and Albus felt heavy with dread, knowing that the question was inevitable. "What happened yesterday?" Scorpius asked.

"I-I had a fit and starting glowing. They took me to the Hospital Wing, Edgeworth said a lot of nasty things, I-I said a lot of nasty things back, and h-here I am," Albus said, his voice trembling.

"That explains a lot," Scorpius said sarcastically.

"What else should I tell you?" Albus asked, annoyed. "But there's something else. I saw Rylon just now. He was holding a book—it was titled _Darke _or something—and he got a letter from the fireplace. He looked really happy, and that can't be good."

Scorpius looked excited. "Well, this just proves it, doesn't it? It proves that Rylon's up to something."

"Wait a moment, you don't suppose..." Albus trailed off, a sudden idea coming to him.

"Do you think that he's the one after you?" Scorpius asked.

Albus raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that someone's after me? But yeah, that's an idea."

Scorpius sighed. "Of course I know that somebody's after you! Even James accepts it. He looked a bit guilty for yelling at you, but that was only after your father lectured him for three hours."

Albus almost laughed. "Well, James deserved it. I didn't think he could feel guilt, though."

"Apparently, he can," Scorpius said, waving the issue away with his hand. "But tell me what you think about what I said."

"I don't know," Albus admitted. "I mean, it doesn't make any sense. Why would Rylon be after me? He hates me, (like everybody does) but would he really want me dead?"

The two boys were quiet for a moment. Albus suddenly remembered something.

"Gerald Erwett was attacked. He's in a coma like Derlwin," said Albus.

"That's old news," Scorpius said, effectively shutting Albus up. "Triton announced it last night. Everyone went mad. I mean, the Head of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures was at the school, and somebody still got attacked."

"I hope they sack him," Albus said viciously.

"What exactly did Edgeworth do to you?" Scorpius asked, getting off his bed.

"He unfairly accused me," Albus snarled. "He said that I was the powerful dark essence and that I should be in Azkaban. He's wrong, and I'm going to prove it."

Scorpius' mouth dropped open. "That _prat! _Wait—what's he even talking about? 'Dark essence'—you're human! He can't possibly accuse you!"

Albus nodded, glad to take the excuse.

He and Scorpius walked out of the common room and out of the dungeons. It was raining, as ever, so it the school did not look particularly happy. In addition to this, there seemed to be an air of panic. The few people who had already woken up gave Albus fearful looks and ran the other direction.

"Get used to it," Scorpius said bitterly. "I'm just your friend, and they won't look at me, either. I bet Rose has to deal with this, too."

"I'll show them," Albus said determinedly. "I'm going to clear my name."

"How?" Scorpius asked, skeptical.

"By being used as bait," Albus said.

"What?" Scorpius gasped.

"Edgeworth wants to use me as bait," Albus said coldly, "so I'll let him. But that's not all. The person who's after me is really powerful. They're controlling the magical creatures somehow. The magical creatures aren't exactly acting normally."

Scorpius snorted. "Yeah, but what does that mean?"

"I know it doesn't make sense," Albus said. "But it's really obvious that all of these creatures are being controlled. Most of them are out of their natural habitat, and they're not doing normal things."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," Scorpius agreed. "Let's find Rose and see what she thinks."

They found her in the entrance hall. It had been fixed up after the Occamy incident, and it was hard to believe that fifty flying serpents had been thrashing around less than twenty-four hours ago.

"What happened, Al?" asked Rose frantically. She threw her arms around him and squeezed him, talking a mile a minute. "Everyone's been talking—they say you're being hunted down—said that you had started glowing green—you were in the Hospital Wing—Gerald Erwett got attacked under the Ministry's nose—"

"Can we tell you, please?" Scorpius asked irritably. Rose fell silent.

Albus quickly explained what had happened, including Edgeworth wanting to use him as bait and what Rylon had been doing. They began to walk away from the Great Hall, wanting to discuss their theories.

"It's definite that they're being controlled," Rose said. "I sent a letter to Mum, and she wrote me a long reply on what magical creatures are supposed to do. Most of them usually don't attack unprovoked, and the Occamies certainly don't come in mobs. And Mum pointed out something else, too. She wondered where all these creatures were coming from. I mean, they've been forcing their way into the school, and the Runespoor, Chizpurfles, and Doxies were inside. She reckons that they're coming from somewhere outside."

"Are they coming from their native regions?" Albus said.

"Could be," Scorpius said. "But it would be a long journey. They wouldn't have been able to make it here without being caught somewhere along the way. And they probably couldn't get past the protective enchantments around Hogwarts."

"So, they're coming from somewhere in the grounds," Rose said. A mischievous smile broke across her face. "It looks like there's another mystery!"

Albus gulped.

"Oh, really?" Scorpius asked sarcastically.

They continued walking, making their way up to the third floor.

"What are we going to do to figure it out, though?" Rose asked. "I mean, we can't just stand here and do nothing, not when Al is in danger!"

"We'll wait and watch before we act," Albus said quietly. Rose opened her mouth to protest, but a roaring noise cut her off. All three second years jumped, shocked. They could hear stampeding coming from far away getting louder and louder, and they shouted out in fear.

The creature that was making the noise was coming closer. Albus whipped out his wand and tensed. The creature finally rounded the corner, and Albus let out a gasp.

"_Uh-oh_," Scorpius said unhelpfully.


	13. The Erumpent Incident

**-Chapter Thirteen-**

**The Erumpent Incident**

Dumbstruck, the three second-years watched as something that looked like an armored rhinoceros rushed toward them.

"What _is_ that?" Albus asked, his voice hoarse with fear. The magical creature had an iron-hard pelt and a long, spiraled horn.

"Wait a moment!" Rose shrieked, pulling out her wand. "That's an _Erumpent!_ The horn can explode, and it can pierce both skin and metal! The Erumpent's pelt is really hard to penetrate, and most spells can't get past it!"

"That's very helpful!" snapped Scorpius, also taking out his wand. "What do we do?" Then he stopped talking, horrified.

They had noticed more roaring, this time from behind them. Albus whirled around and wished that he hadn't. There was a _second_ Erumpent. It snorted and stampeded toward the three of them, and its beady eyes locked with Albus' emerald ones.

_Uh-oh. _

"What do we do?" Rose shouted. _"Impedimenta!" _Her spell was right on mark, but it bounded off the pelt of the second Erumpent harmlessly.

"Run?" Scorpius suggested. They didn't need telling twice. The three second years took off running toward the first Erumpent, who let out a rumble, infuriated. It pawed the ground and snorted louder, and Albus, Rose, and Scorpius halted in front of it, their way blocked.

"HELP US!" Rose yelled. "ERUMPENTS! THEY'RE ATTACKING US!"

"No—Rose! You'll make them angrier!" Scorpius snapped.

"Well, do you want to die?" Rose retorted. "This way, someone will hear us!"

Albus wasn't paying attention to his two friends' argument. He looked back and forth between the two Erumpents, the gears in his mind turning furiously. Their pelts couldn't be penetrated... their horns were volatile and would blow up...

"We need to trick them," Albus said suddenly. Then he noticed how close the Erumpents were getting. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" The second years leapt aside, and the Erumpents were too slow to react. They thundered by harmlessly.

Albus turned back to the first Erumpent, trying to figure out how to get the two Erumpents to crash into each other. _Bait. _Albus walked out into the middle of the corridor, a determined expression on his face.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Scorpius demanded.

The Erumpents turned back around, furious that that they had been denied their prey. They let out terrifying, identical roars of anger and shot toward Albus again, who shook with fear. He kept his wand held out in front of him.

"AL!" both Rose and Scorpius shouted.

Albus gritted his teeth and hissed, "_Sphaera protego!" _A transparent hemisphere appeared around him. At that very moment, the two Erumpents smashed into each other, right where Albus was standing. The resulting explosion was enough to level the whole corridor.

"_Protego!" _Scorpius yelled, just in time. The shield that he had created protected him and Rose from the blast and debris that rained down.

Albus stared as the Erumpents exploded, and to his shock, he saw a strange dark mist floating from the debris of the Erumpents. It twisted and swirled into the air, where it floated for a split second before it disappeared.

"_Shadows," _Albus whispered. The protection around him flickered and vanished. Albus leapt for the shadow, too late. It had already vanished. His fist closed around thin air.

Albus heard frantic footsteps coming from behind them and turned around to see Edgeworth, Neville, and Irving hurrying toward them.

"You did this yourself?" Irving asked, looking at the remains of the two Erumpents.

All the color seemed to have left Edgeworth's face. He looked from the dead Erumpents to Albus, biting his lip. "How? _How?_ A second year..."

Albus smirked. He hated bragging about his achievements, but it felt good to be shoving it into Edgeworth's face. "It wasn't me," Albus said, the smirk still in place. "They did it to themselves."

"My, my, Al! That was brilliant!" Neville said, looking impressed. "Let's tell this to Headmaster Triton. He'll want to hear that there was another attack."

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius dragged themselves to the Headmaster's Office. Albus felt like this was the hundredth time he had been there.

"Harry James Potter," Edgeworth said to the gargoyle. The words seemed to be causing him physical pain. Albus smirked wider. The gargoyle leapt aside, and the professors, the Ministry worker, and the three second-years took the moving spiral staircase up to Triton's office.

Unsurprisingly, Triton was sitting at his desk, looking bored. Albus scowled.

"What happened?" Triton asked, looking up.

Neville explained as Edgeworth stood quietly off to the side, a very sour look on his face.

"Well, this is interesting," Triton said once Neville had finished. "Why is it always you three?"

Both Scorpius and Rose pointed mutely toward Albus, who glared at both of them in turn.

"Of course, I shouldn't have asked," chuckled Triton. "Neville tells me that it was Mr. Potter who dealt with the Erumpents. Very well, thirty points to Slytherin."

Albus didn't dare look at Edgeworth and Irving's expressions. He nodded toward Triton and walked back out with Rose and Scorpius. When they were out of earshot, Albus spoke.

"Shadows," he said. "I saw shadows. At first, I thought it was smoke, but it was _shadows._ It was really weird, but I know what I saw. Do you think that it's the shadows that are controlling the magical creatures?"

"Shadows," Rose repeated, biting her lip. "I'm sending a letter to Mum. She knows everything."

Albus sighed with relief. Aunt Hermione did know everything—or almost everything. Surely, she would know what the shadows that Albus saw were?

* * *

The next few weeks passed without problems. Rose had gotten back her letter, and her mother's long reply had suggested several books on magical shadows. Rose had proceeded to tear apart the library, but none of the explanations she came up with seemed right. Aunt Hermione herself had looked in every book and sent stacks of books back to her daughter, but it was pointless.

The shadows were something that weren't recorded in history. Aunt Hermione had admitted through her letters that she hadn't ever heard of shadows controlling magical creatures. Disheartened, the three second years had given up for the time being. Like Albus had said before, they needed to wait and watch.

Dueling practices and Quidditch practices continued as always, but nobody spoke to Albus anymore. Rose and Scorpius were also being shunned for staying by his side, and he was extremely grateful to them. Rylon had stopped being nasty to Albus and kept quiet, though Albus suspected this was because he had walked in on Rylon getting that letter.

Albus had taken to spying on Rylon around the dungeons. He had set his magical alarm clock several hours early so he could go to the common room in the mornings to wait for Rylon. Rylon had not been fooled and had become ten times more paranoid than before.

On Friday morning a week before Christmas break, Albus kept his usual invisible post by the greenish fireplace, waiting for Rylon to come. At six o'clock precisely, Rylon came down. His dark hair was tousled, and his eyes drooped in tiredness. Albus felt a jab of curiosity. Clearly, Rylon hadn't gotten enough sleep.

Rylon took a quick glance around the common room and headed for the exit. Albus was quite surprised. Rylon must be in a hurry, because he usually used a spell to check if anyone else was in the room. Making up his mind, Albus quietly went after him, careful not to make too much noise. Fortunately, Rylon did not hear Albus' footsteps, and he was wearing his Invisibility Cloak.

Rylon stopped every few moments, casting a wary look around him before starting again. Albus trailed him, his curiosity growing with every step. Finally, Rylon stopped walking in front of a blank wall. Albus halted, shocked. Had Rylon heard him after all?

Rylon took one more cautious look around before taking out his wand and tapping it seven times on the wall. The wall split and the two sides moved aside, the bricks shifting and turning to form an archway. Albus opened his mouth with shock. Had there been a secret room in the dungeons the whole time, and was Rylon the only one who knew about it?

Rylon quickly stepped inside, and Albus followed him in. Albus had to clasp his hand over his mouth to keep from gasping at what he saw in the room. It was absolutely huge, and books were stacked in the corners. There was a big open space in the center, except for a small table. On this table was a stack of scrolls.

Albus stepped forward, entranced. He made his way to the books and saw that they were all on Dark Magic. Albus stumbled, shocked. This was why Rylon was so worried about being followed! If Rylon was caught with this much Dark Magic, he would be sent to Azkaban before he could take his NEWTs. Albus stared at the cover of the book on the top of the stack. Before he could stop himself, his hand shot out and stroked it. He desperately wanted to open it to see what secrets it held...

_No, _Albus thought firmly, pulling back his hand from the book as if it was poisoned. _I promised Dad. _He shook his head to clear it and walked over to where Rylon was standing. Albus checked to make sure his invisibility cloak was still tightly on and peered around Rylon to look at the scrolls.

They were covered with scribbles, but Albus had a feeling that Rylon was inventing Dark spells just like Albus and Scorpius invented normal spells. Albus stared at the scrolls, knowing that he now had his proof. A seventh-year boy who was able to invent so many Dark spells was _surely _the extremely powerful Dark Wizard—or dark essence—that the Ministry was on the hunt for...

But Rylon, like Albus, looked completely human. Uncle Ron had mentioned that the dark essence was taking the form of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old child, and Rylon fit that description, didn't he?

Albus had the urge to take off his cloak and threaten Rylon. He could control Rylon, and Rylon would do whatever Albus wanted if he threatened to tell his father. But Albus couldn't. What was the point? There was no way that he could become the King of Slytherin again, now that he was the freak of the school. There was no need to blackmail Rylon anymore.

Albus walked out of the room in a semi-conscious state, unable to believe that he had given up such an opportunity. Something alarmed him even more, though. He wanted the secret Dark room to himself. Albus wanted Rylon out of there so he himself could invent Dark spells and read about Dark Magic.

Albus was disgusted with himself. He wandered around the dungeons dazedly, thinking about Rylon and Dark Magic. What was wrong with him? Why did he feel such a strong pull toward Dark Magic?

An hour passed as Albus walked around, deep in his thoughts. It was only then that Albus noticed that he was very hungry and that it was time for breakfast. Berating himself for being stupid, he stalked out of the dungeons.

Then he heard footsteps. Albus whirled around and scanned the walls around him. There was a squeak from behind the nearest wall that sounded very familiar. _Heartley! _What was the Potions professor doing—spying on him? Amused, Albus decided to humor Heartley. He kept going, pretending that he hadn't heard.

The footsteps were so obvious that Albus could have laughed out loud. Finally, he decided to stop the act and peered past the nearest wall to see Professor Heartley standing there like a deer caught in the wandlight.

"Hello," Albus said. "Um, why are you following me?"

Heartley gulped. "Oh—uh—er—I-I wasn't following you! I wanted to get to my classroom."

Albus raised an eyebrow. "The Potions classroom is the other way, sir."

Heartley nodded quickly and fled in the other direction. Albus, still very confused, continued out of the dungeons and into the Great Hall. As expected, everyone stared at him and quickly looked away when they realized that he was watching them.

_They look at me like I'm a monster waiting to strike, _Albus thought angrily. To his relief, he spotted Rose and Scorpius sitting alone at their respective tables. He walked toward the Slytherin table and sat down next to Scorpius, deciding not tell him about Rylon. Scorpius would only ask him why Albus hadn't ratted Rylon out, and Albus had no idea how to answer.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts today," Scorpius groaned. Albus seized a piece of toast and nibbled it, suddenly not so hungry anymore.

The day stretched on torturously. Nobody except for Rose and Scorpius spoke to Albus, but he was so used to this by now that he didn't complain. At least nobody was calling him a loser or traitor or tripping him in the hallways anymore. Potions/Acting was awful as always, and Albus decided to catch up on some sleep as Heartley read the most boring script in history.

At last, the end of classes for the day arrived with Defense Against the Dark Arts. Albus blandly wondered what fresh horrors Irving had planned for the Slytherins today. Rose, Scorpius, and Albus took their usual seats in the back of the classroom.

Albus spotted Elina sitting in the front. With a pang of sadness, he recalled that she wasn't speaking to him much, either. She hadn't outright shunned him, but she wouldn't smile or look at him unless she had to. In fact, she seemed slightly ill, though Albus suspected this was because it was the cold season.

A few minutes later, Irving strolled in. "Dark Magic," he said. At that moment, everyone knew that Irving was going lecture them. "And methods of defending yourself from it."

Albus sighed and rested his head on his desk, ready to sleep some more. He dozed in and out of consciousness as Irving continued to speak, but one word jerked Albus back awake.

"Dark Shadows are extremely dangerous and powerful, and should you come into contact with them, you will not survive. They are very good at escaping notice, but there is a way to track them: the Umbrelixir," Irving stopped talking and cast a quick look toward Albus. "It is a special potion, and instructions on how to make it are found in a book called _Moste Potente Potions."_

"What was the point of that whole explanation?" someone asked from the front of the classroom.

But Albus, Rose, and Scorpius understood. Looking at each other excitedly, they waited until Defense Against the Dark Arts was over and hurried out of the classroom.

"The Umbrelixir," Scorpius said. "And it's in a book called _Moste Potente Potions. _Why did Irving sound like he was telling us on purpose?"

Albus shrugged. Irving's knowledge about the whole ordeal could simply be coincidental...

"I don't know," Rose said. "But we need to ask Madam Pince for it right away! This is what we're looking for. We can track the shadows—and—uh—"

"Figure out where they lead us," Albus finished. "Once we know where they're coming from, we can destroy their source."

Satisfied with Albus' plan, they ran all the way to the library to ask Madam Pince.

"We're looking for a book called _Moste Potente Potions_," Rose explained to the vulture-like librarian.

"If you want it," Madam Pince wheezed, looking cruelly gleeful about something, "then you'll have to get a note. It's in the Restricted Section."

Albus, Rose, and Scorpius exchanged furious looks. Annoyed, they walked back out of the library.

"What are we going to do now?" Scorpius grumbled. "No teacher in their right mind would give us a note."

"Do you think that Irving might?" Rose suggested.

"We don't have to bother with Irving," Albus said. "There's somebody that's thick enough to give us permission..."

Both Scorpius and Rose grinned at Albus' idea. Rose grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled down the title of the book and they all hurried to the Potions classroom.

"Sir," Rose asked Heartley, "I really want to check out a book called _Moste Potente Potions. _It'll help me understand your latest production, _The Demise of the Mud Creature. _I'm—um—very curious about how a potion killed the mud thing—or whatever you call it."

Heartley looked pleasantly surprised. "Oh, well, yes. Certainly." He seized a quill and scrawled his signature on Rose's parchment. "If you'd like to discuss—"

"No, no thank you," Rose said, rolling her eyes. She grabbed Albus and Scorpius and dragged them out of the Potions classroom, relieved that she had gotten out of having a conversation with Heartley.

"The idiot," Scorpius said. "He didn't even look at what book we wanted."

Rose nodded in agreement, giggling. Albus snatched the parchment from her and led the way back up to the library. Madam Pince did not look happy to see them. She held the slip of parchment up to the light to check for forgery. Apparently, she was unable to find anything wrong with it, because she stalked over to the Restricted Section and returned a moment later with a very messy book that was falling apart.

Rose took it from the irritable librarian and tenderly put it in her book bag, clearly afraid that it would fall apart before she could read it.

Ten minutes later, they were barricaded in Moaning Myrtle's lavatory. Albus and Scorpius had protested, but Rose had overridden their objections by pointing out that nobody would dare enter Myrtle's lavatory, so they were guaranteed some privacy. Myrtle was wailing her head off in one of the stalls, but they were determinedly ignoring her.

Rose pulled the sticky pages of _Moste Potente Potions_ apart and flipped past a few pages on the Polyjuice Potion before coming to the Umbrelixir.

"Oh, no!" she said. "This is too difficult!"

Albus reached over and grabbed the book from her. He scanned the page quickly and shook his head. "No, not that much. I-I think I can d-do it," he admitted shyly.

Rose beamed. "Of course you can. I shouldn't have worried."

But Scorpius had realized something else. "What is this? Boomslang skin? I don't even know what that is. Bouncing Spider Juice? I don't _want_ to know. Dragon liver? Need I explain?"

Albus blushed again and said, "I know what t-those are. I-I know their p-properties. But they're not in the student's cupboard."

"We're going to have to steal," Scorpius said. "I don't like this idea."

"Do you want to stand by and do nothing while the magical creatures attack me and the other students?" Albus demanded angrily, the stutter disappearing from his voice. "Remember Gerald and Derlwin? It's not just me. Gerald and Derlwin are as good as dead, and how many more students are going to join them? We need to stop this."

"All right, all right," Scorpius said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I didn't mean that. I want to help you."

Albus sighed. "I-I know. I just hate being accused of doing everything." He looked down at the dirty bathroom floor, not wanting to meet his friends' eyes.

Rose patted Albus on the back comfortingly. "I know, Al. You're really strong to keep fighting through this without giving up. But remember that Scorpius and I are still your friends, and we'll always be."

Albus smiled at her, and before he could stop himself, he hugged her tightly. "Thanks." He couldn't explain in words how much he cared for both her and Scorpius. He was a freak and he was dangerous, yet they still unfalteringly stood by him.

"How are we going to get all these supplies?" Scorpius asked once Rose and Albus had pulled apart.

"We'll wait until Potions next week," Albus said. "I'll ask Heartley. He's such an idiot that he'll probably hand out supplies if he's in a good mood."

With that plan in place, Rose slipped _Moste Potente Potions_ back into her bag and the three second years left Myrtle's lavatory.

Albus was immersed in his thoughts as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner. _I need to clear my name. I need to prove that I'm not a loser, traitor, or freak._

_Or a monster._

* * *

**Author's Note: As you all know by now, this is a lot like Chamber of Secrets. All of the similarities are done on purpose, and I kind of hope the nostalgia makes you smile. If it doesn't... well, book three of my series is rather different from Prisoner of Azkaban, so look forward to that.**


	14. The Curse of the Umbrelixir

**-Chapter Fourteen-**

**The Curse of the Umbrelixir**

For the first time that year, Albus was anticipating Heartley's Potions/Acting class so he could get the ingredients. And, oddly enough, Heartley had a surprise for them on the last lesson before Christmas break.

"Now, you've all heard me describe my various roles in famous productions—" began Heartley.

"Unfortunately," Scorpius muttered under his breath.

"So, it's time for you to write your own script and put on your own production!" Heartley finished, clapping his hands together happily.

Albus gritted his teeth. They hadn't made a single potion the whole year, and he was sorely missing the subject. It had always been his favorite.

The rest of the class had straightened up in interest, but Heartley's next words made everyone groan. "I will be choosing the pairs," Heartley said. He pulled out a long scroll and began reading from it. "Mr. Camel with Mr. Nesbitt... Miss Weasley with Mr. Malfoy... Mr. Potter with Miss Lyon..."

Rose and Scorpius sighed with relief, and Albus nervously raised his head from the desk. He hadn't spoken to Elina much after the Occamy event. She gave him a weak smile and walked over to where he was sitting.

"Hi, Al," she said, looking a bit tired. He had noticed that she often looked tired now.

"Hello," Albus muttered. "I haven't talked to you for a long time."

She looked a bit guilty. "Sorry. I just—I believe you—I just—I—"

"It's fine," Albus said quietly. He was finding it easier to talk to Elina, and he didn't mess up his words anymore. His feelings for her hadn't diminished in the slightest, however. If anything, they had grown and gone beyond a crush.

"Thanks," Elina said. Her cheeks turned slightly pink. "What should we do for our play?"

"I'M NOT DOING A ROMANCE!" Rose screeched at Scorpius, who was very red. Both Albus and Elina laughed as Rose threw her textbook at Scorpius, who yelped and dove under the table.

Albus loved Elina's giggle. It was bright and full of life, and it was like music. But he hadn't heard her laugh for a long time. In fact, laughing was very rare in Hogwarts now. There was too much tension and fear in the air, so any chuckle in the hallways felt fake and forced.

The next few minutes passed quietly. Albus didn't get much done, because he was trying to figure out how to force Heartley to let borrow some Potions ingredients. Fifteen minutes before the class ended, Albus pulled Elina to the front of the classroom.

"Professor H-Heartley," Albus began nervously, "We want t-to use some of your ingredients f-for our play."

Elina looked very confused, but she had the sense to stay quiet. Heartley shrugged. "Sure! Go ahead."

Almost smirking, Albus pushed the door to the room that stored rare ingredients. Elina followed him inside, looking disapproving.

"Al, are you stealing?" she asked, glaring at him.

Albus had the urge to tell her what he was planning, but he didn't want to get her involved. "Um—I'm really sorry! I wanted to invent a potion, and I don't have enough ingredients."

Elina sighed. "This is wrong, Al."

_Is it wrong if it's going to help save the school? _Albus wondered. Out loud, he said, "I'm sorry. But I need to." With those words, he scanned the shelves. He had the urge to take some extra ingredients, but he wanted to make it up to Elina, so he only took what he needed.

"I'm done," Albus told her. He slipped the vials and bags of ingredients into his pockets, which bulged. Knowing he looked ridiculous, he walked out of the store room, nodded to Heartley, and sat back down.

* * *

The holidays started, and Albus was grateful that both Rose and Scorpius had decided to stay behind for Christmas. On the first day of the break, Albus started on the Umbrelixir and had found that there were several things he had no idea how to do.

"The essence of the shadow?" Rose asked after she had finished reciting the procedure. Albus wiped a strand of his untidy jet black hair out of his eyes and snatched the book from her.

"It must mean a bit of the shadow!" Scorpius said.

"That means we have to wait until something else attacks me and grab the shadow before it disappears," Albus said slowly.

"How are we supposed to that?" Scorpius asked.

Rose's eyes lit up. "We'll get a bottle and catch the shadow—just like we used to do with fairies when we were little."

"I never did that," Albus muttered. He hadn't ever wanted to join in the fairy-catching that the rest of his cousins participated in. The fairies were very pretty, but they would throw tantrums whenever they were caught and wouldn't glow for anyone.

"But her idea is good," Scorpius said.

"Yeah, it is," Albus agreed. "I'll get a vial from my Potions kit later."

Rose took the book back and scanned the list of ingredients again. "But there's something else here: the Umbreon Curse. What in Merlin's name is that? I would ask Mum, but it looks kind of... _dark_, and Mum doesn't like that stuff."

"It definitely Dark Magic," Scorpius said. "You can tell from the name."

Albus thought for a moment. "I can take the Invisibility Cloak out during the night to check in the Restricted Section."

Rose and Scorpius nodded at his idea. Rose glanced at the page in the book again. "It should take a little more than two months. Maybe it'll be ready around late February or early March?"

With those words, Albus, Rose, and Scorpius packed up and went back to their dormitories. Albus impatiently bounced around, waiting for night to fall so he could sneak through the corridors and search the Restricted Section.

It was still raining, as it had been doing nonstop since summer. Albus had gotten so used to it by now that he didn't even notice it anymore. Finally, night came, and he ran back into his dormitory to get the Invisibility Cloak. He threw it on, checked that no one else was in the common room except for Scorpius, and departed.

The dungeons were pitch black and dead silent, but Albus liked the quiet. He crept past the Bloody Baron and avoided detection, and he was even unlucky enough to spot the ghosts of Mrs. Norris and the late caretaker, Filch. Albus briefly wondered how cats and Squibs could be ghosts, but pushed the issue from his mind.

After what seemed like ages, Albus finally reached the library. He tiptoed his way to the roped that cut off the Restricted Section from the rest of the library. The moment he went under the rope, he could very easily see that the books in this section were much more sinister than the ones outside.

But Albus did not feel scared or wary. He eagerly grabbed the nearest book and flipped to the first page. His eyes scanned the page hungrily, taking in every detail. The dark sensation took over him, and he felt entranced as he read about the many Dark curses and jinxes.

There were instructions on how to cause various disfigurements, how to drive someone crazy, how to curse someone so that they always had bad luck, how to cause excruciating pain, how to control, how to kill... He was disgusted with himself for being interested in this kind of magic.

But he could not put the book of Dark Magic down. It was too mysterious. Albus had never been allowed to even look at the cover of a Dark Magic book, but he had always been intrigued with Dark curses. He desperately wanted to use them... they were drawing him in...He just couldn't stay away...

The pull of the darkness was too strong for Albus to resist. He spent the rest of the night memorizing every single Dark spell that he came across, and whatever thoughts of finding out what the Umbreon Curse was left him.

When Madam Pince woke up, Albus remembered to throw his Invisibility Cloak back on. Feeling somehow both guilty and delighted at the same time, he hurried back to the dungeons. It was only when Albus reached his bed again that he realized that he was breaking the promise he had made to his father.

_I'm betraying his trust, _Albus thought as he sunk into sleep.

* * *

The man and the woman were standing in front of a group of people in emerald-green cloaks. They were holding hands.

"We have found a way to temporarily stop Cryptan, the Paradox," began the woman. "The Realms from which he came, from which he was created, the Realms of Darkness, can be containers for him."

"The plan is to break him up into pieces, send them into slumber, and place them inside each of the Realms," continued the man, speaking for the woman.

"But this will not stop him forever. He can easily return, and even one small part of him will be extremely destructive," the woman said.

The man interrupted her. "He will break out of his prison, but we have to prevent it until the Final Paradox, the only one who can stop the First Paradox, is born. This will happen a thousand years later.

"Our opposing Regiment will attempt to erase history and any mention of the Paradox, the embodiment of evil," continued the man gravely, "so that the world of a thousand years later will unprepared. All of the Paradox's weapons will be hidden away, and any trace of this war will be gone. When it comes next, our opposing Regiment is almost sure to win."

"But we can buy time, Luke. We can keep faith in this new Paradox," the woman insisted.

The man growled, "But Myrinda, I cannot keep faith in a _monster_."

* * *

Albus jerked awake. He knew who the two people from his dreams were. Irving... and Elina. But that didn't make sense! That woman looked far older than Elina! And hadn't Irving called the woman 'Myrinda'?

And had the events of these dreams really occurred in the past? If so, how could Irving exist so many years before if he was alive right now? It made no sense to Albus. These dreams _couldn't_ be real!

But something told Albus that they were not dreams, but instead visions. They were real to him.

_Don't be stupid, _he berated himself. _It was nothing but a dream... _he could barely remember what the man and the woman had been taking about now. They had mentioned the Realms of Darkness, hadn't they?

Albus swung his feet off his bed and glanced at his watch. It was nearly lunchtime. Horrified, Albus threw on his robes and ran down for breakfast. He remembered that it was Christmas Eve.

A bit afraid to tell Rose and Scorpius that he hadn't come up with anything during the night, Albus dragged himself out of the dungeons. The four house tables and the staff table had all been combined into one for the break, since they were so few students staying.

Albus spotted Elina sitting by Professor Irving, and a sudden thought occurred to him. But it made no sense. Irving couldn't have existed a thousand years ago. And Albus knew that Elina wasn't Myrinda. Myrinda had been far older in Albus' 'visions', and though the girls looked very much alike, they weren't identical.

Shaking the thoughts about his strange vision-like dreams from his mind, he sat down between Rose and Scorpius.

"So?" Rose prompted. "Did you figure out what the Umbreon Curse is?"

"Not so loud!" Scorpius hissed.

"No, I didn't," Albus admitted. If he had searched around more instead of memorizing Dark spells, he might have been able to find something on the Umbreon Curse, but he wasn't about to tell Rose and Scorpius that.

"What?" Rose groaned. "What do you mean? Where is it?"

Albus looked at the ground guiltily. "I—er—I'll check again..."

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked, noticing the ill look on Albus' face.

"It's n-nothing. It's just... Rose, could you ask your mum something for me?"

Rose gaped, clearly surprised. "Okay, sure! But why?"

Albus shrugged. "I'm just... curious. Do wizards usually have... visions of the past during their dreams?"

Rose and Scorpius stared at him.

"You're not fooling anybody," Scorpius said.

Albus glared at him. "Fine! I've been having them my whole life. But I can actually remember them now! Not all of them... just bits and pieces. But I think these things happened in the past... during the medieval times and stuff. It's not a figment of my imagination—stop laughing, Rose!"

"I've never heard of something more ridiculous!" Rose snorted. "Mum always insults Seers, but they exist. There isn't such a thing as someone who can see the past, unless you use a Pensieve. But I'll send a letter to Mum, anyways."

"Can you not mention me?" Albus begged. "I've kept it a secret for so long, and Aunt Hermione will go running to my parents, and they'll be in hysterics. They already think that I'm a freak..."

Rose sighed. "Whatever. But you haven't really been normal this year. Maybe, I don't know, you're imagining this?"

"No!" Albus insisted. "It's real... it happened. I know it did..."

"What are you talking about? What happened?" Scorpius asked.

Albus turned red and tried not to look at Elina and Irving. "N-Nothing!"

Scorpius and Rose exchanged looks that plainly told Albus that they were worrying about his mental health.

* * *

Christmas break was drawing to a close, and Albus had gone to the Restricted Section every night. Instead of searching for the Umbreon Curse, he had absorbed every piece of information on Dark Magic that he could get his hands on. Albus had spent large chunks of his breaks secretly practicing Dark Magic in empty classrooms.

For some reason, Albus felt stronger when he used Dark Magic. He was a natural at it, and he felt completely comfortable using it. Albus had even tried out the Unforgivable Curses on some unlucky spiders, though he hadn't dared to use the Killing Curse.

Albus knew he wouldn't be caught, because the Ministry could not separate his magic from the rest of the school's. So he continued using Dark Magic and inventing Dark spells without his friends' knowledge. The dark sensation within him was ever present, and Albus had strangely gotten used to it.

But one thing kept nagging at Albus: He was a Dark Wizard now, a twelve-year-old Dark Wizard.

Though Albus probably wasn't the extremely powerful young Dark Wizard that the Ministry was on the hunt for, he was still a Dark Wizard. If he was caught, he would probably be sent to Azkaban, son of Harry Potter or not.

Albus had become just as paranoid as Rylon and had put protective enchantments around his empty classroom of choice, and he constantly looked over his shoulder, even though the hallways were nearly empty since it was break.

Unfortunately, Edgeworth was prowling around the castle, and Albus had to take extra care not to run into him. Edgeworth was firmly acting as if the conversation between him and Albus had not occurred, but Albus knew that what he had said had shaken Edgeworth.

Scorpius and Rose seemed to sense that he was more distant, but they did not question it. They didn't expect the son of the honorable Harry Potter to be a Dark Wizard. When Albus lay in bed late at night, the guilt overcame the dark feeling, and Albus often burst into tears because his father would probably disown him if he found out.

Even though Albus tried to stop using Dark Magic, he couldn't. In a few short days, he had become addicted to it. It was so easy... it seemed to come out of him. He was one with the Dark Magic, and he loved to use it. Albus was disgusted with himself.

Finally, the holidays ended, and the school was filled with students again, and Edgeworth and the Ministry workers were still crawling around. Albus knew it was now too risky to practice Dark Magic, and he was strangely relieved that he couldn't.

It was on the first day that classes resumed that Aunt Hermione sent back information on Albus' 'dreams.' Albus snatched the letter from Rose after she had finished reading it.

_Dear Rose,_

_Having visions of the past that occur during dreams is supposedly an extremely, extremely rare trait, much rarer than the 'Inner Eye.' If someone has this trait, they are called a Historia Ariolus, or Past Seer. There is only one convincing record of such a trait, and it is unknown whether it is true. I believe that they are not real, as there is no real proof. Rose, if I may ask, who asked you to send this letter? If someone claims that there is a Past Seer at Hogwarts, then the Department of Mysteries will surely want to come to investigate. But I am fairly certain that Past Seers do not exist. I already looked through several books on the matter, and there are no facts that support their existence. If you want to read further, I recommend the following books: _Magical Facts and Fiction, _and_ The Myth of Historia Ariolus. _Please reply and tell me what you think. I will continue looking for more on this subject, as it intrigues me as well._

_Love,_

_ Mum_

"There!" Rose said triumphantly. "They don't exist!"

"That's it," Albus whispered. "I can barely remember the dreams of the past—visions, but I know I had them. I must be a Historia Ariolus!"

"Didn't Mum just say that they weren't real?" Rose snapped.

"But I'm one!" Albus insisted. "Everything makes sense! I'm a Historia Ariolus! There was one other record of it... _who?_ Who was the other person like me?"

Rose glared at him. "This is just rubbish, Al—"

Scorpius decided that it was time to intervene. "Okay, okay. If Al is sure, then he is."

Rose sighed, "Whatever."

* * *

The week went on, and Albus, Rose, and Scorpius properly started the Umbrelixir, deciding they would add the Umbreon Curse and the essence of the shadow when they acquired them. Albus was becoming a bit desperate and was now seriously considering asking Irving for information on the Umbreon Curse. Albus was also waiting for more magical creatures to attack him so he could catch their shadows, but none did.

In fact, nothing happened until the first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson since the Christmas holidays.

"How are we going to get the bloody Umbreon Curse?" Rose demanded, nervously tearing a piece of her parchment.

Albus sighed and guiltily sunk into his seat. "I d-don't know." If only he had stopped himself from reading about Dark Magic, he might have been able to find out more about the Umbreon Curse. But it was too late for that.

"What curse?" Elina asked from behind Rose, Scorpius, and Albus. She looked questioningly at Rose, who groaned.

"Um—Elina, can you just pretend that you didn't hear anything?" Rose begged.

"But curses are Dark Magic!" Elina said.

"We don't know," Scorpius said sarcastically.

"Tell her," Albus said finally. "She already heard us."

It took only a few minutes for Rose to tell Elina that they had noticed the shadows coming from the magical creatures and wanted to track them.

Elina still looked unconvinced. "I don't like this."

"It's to save the school," Albus said simply. "Please. Don't tell anyone." Albus suddenly felt sick. If Elina didn't like them using the Umbreon Curse, what would she say about Albus secretly practicing Dark Magic? She wouldn't want anything to do with him at all.

"All right, but it's only because I don't want Hogwarts to close down," Elina said.

"Thanks." Color rose in Albus' cheeks as he looked at her, but he noticed that she seemed a bit tired.

Then Elina's pretty blue-violet eyes lit up. "I've got an idea! I'll ask Da—Professor Irving! He does everything for me."

Before anyone could stop her, Elina had already gotten up from her seat. She hurried toward the front of the classroom and pulled on Irving's sleeve. They went into the back room, and Elina came out a few minutes later with a wide grin on her face.

"Here," she said, pushing a slip of parchment into Albus' hands. "Professor Irving gave me permission to check out a book called _Anciente Darke Magick. _I'm giving it to you."

"You really want to help, don't you?" Albus asked quietly. He suddenly realized how close he was to her.

"Yes," Elina said firmly. "I hate Dark Magic and anyone who uses it, but it's not really Dark Magic if it's going to help Hogwarts."

"You seem really fond of the place," Scorpius said. Rose nodded in agreement.

Elina turned red. "Well... if you haven't already figured it out, I should explain. Please don't tell. Al already knows—he saw me... Anyways, I live at Hogwarts. I've lived here my whole life."

Nobody looked surprised.

"Why do you live here?" Rose asked. "Is one of the professors your parent?"

Elina bit her lip. "Well, I guess my secret is out. My daddy is Professor Irving."

Albus' mouth dropped open. Did that mean that Myrinda was Elina's mother? But that still made no sense... Albus' visions had taken place a thousand years ago.

Once Defense Against the Dark Arts was over, Albus and Scorpius went to Moaning Myrtle's lavatory to work on the Umbrelixir while Rose went to the library to check out _Anciente Darke Magick. _A few minutes later, Rose arrived and they quickly flipped through the book.

"Here it is," Albus said, finding the instructions on how to cast the Umbreon Curse. "I'll do it." He took out his wand and pointed at the potion, which was currently a light blue. "_Umbrus." _A small sliver of something that looked like smoke shot out of his wand tip and mixed into the potion. A split second later, the color of the Umbrelixir Potion turned pure black.

"Well, that's done. There's only the essence of the shadow left now—" Albus stopped talking when he saw the expressions of shock on Rose and Scorpius' faces.

"W-What?" Albus demanded.

Rose and Scorpius exchanged looks. "You just did Dark Magic," Rose said uncertainly.

"That's weird. It worked perfectly on your first try," Scorpius said, looking unsettled. "Father told me that advanced Dark Magic like the Umbreon Curse is hard to do, especially when you're new at it. But you just... did it without flinching."

Albus gulped. He had always been able to do Dark Magic well. How was he going to explain this? "I-I don't know what you're talking about," he said, lying through his teeth. "I-I guess I j-just got lucky."

Rose and Scorpius did not look convinced. Albus stood up and wiped his grubby hands on his robes and cleaned his fogged-up glasses. He tried not to look at his two best friends. He felt awful. The secret was tearing him apart.

Albus Severus Potter, son of the wizarding world's hero, was a Dark Wizard.


	15. The Essence of the Shadows

**-Chapter Fifteen-**

**The Essence of the Shadows**

The next Dueling match was rapidly approaching, and Albus wasn't worried about it at all. It was taking all his self control not to use Dark Magic on Rylon, who was discreetly using it as well. Rylon was quieter than usual, and he didn't insult Albus during practices anymore.

"Ready, set, DUEL!" said Blake Zabini as Albus and Rylon faced each other.

Rylon sent a spell towards Albus at the speed of lightning, but Albus blocked it even more quickly. He felt that dark sensation within him again, and bright green lightning shot from the tip of his wand. It twisted its way toward Rylon, who tried to leap aside, but wasn't quick enough. The lightning hit him in the chest, and he fell to the ground, groaning. Albus grinned and flicked his wand, which caused Rylon's wand to be knocked from his grip. Albus caught it.

"I won," Albus said, smirking down at his seventh-year opponent. He threw Rylon's wand back at him. Then he felt extremely dizzy and tired. Using his powers—if that was what they were—had sucked much of his energy out of him.

The other members of Slytherin's Team One stared at him, their mouths open. Albus, whose energy was slowly returning, slipped his wand back in his pocket and scurried back to his spot beside Scorpius, who looked as if he had been hit on the head with a club.

Albus turned red.

* * *

"This is ridiculous," Rose was saying as she, Albus, and Scorpius came back from Hagrid's hut. "I mean, when you _want_ to get attacked, you don't get attacked."

Albus nodded. He was becoming a bit desperate. It had already been more than a month and he still hadn't run into any magical creatures. He fingered the vial in his pocket that would capture the essence of the shadow.

"Gryffindors incoming," Scorpius said. He pointed mutely toward a group of thuggish fourth years who had spotted Albus and were brave enough to insult him. (Most people tried to avoid his eyes nowadays.)

"Ooh! I hate them!" Rose snarled. "I've told them to stop fifty times—"

But at that moment, the fourth years, snickering, pushed Albus into a group of second year Hufflepuff girls. Albus knocked over poor Janet Abel, hurriedly apologized, and got back up. He was so used to the bullying at this point that he didn't even flinch.

"Whatever, Rose," Albus sighed. "Let's go."

Sometimes he wondered if he constantly had a sign on him that said: **PICK ON ME**.

* * *

The Dueling match had passed without great incident, and Albus was almost disappointed. With the intention of getting started on his Transfiguration essay, he made his way to the library. To his surprise, he saw James barricaded there, holding court with the rest of the Hogwarts elite. Albus put his schoolbag down and slipped behind the Invisibility Section, wanting to hear what James was saying.

"It could be Snivellus," James said. "But something doesn't add up. He was being _chased_ by the Occamies."

Richie Red spoke next. "Yeah, but you said it yourself: he might be controlling them. He's a Parseltongue, and I saw him ask the Runespoor to attack your dad."

Albus clenched his fists.

"I overheard Neville and Professor Patil talking to each other, and they seemed pretty convinced that Snivellus was being attacked. They haven't been telling the students anything, though," James said, looking unconvinced.

Red was adamant. "He was talking to the Occamies. We don't know what he was saying, but I doubt he was telling them to stop. Something makes make me think that he lost control of them and they attacked him."

Albus had heard enough. He slipped out of the Invisibility Section and glared at the group of Hogwarts elite, having the urge to use Dark Magic on them all. They turned around and spotted him, and all the color drained from their faces. It would have been funny if Albus hadn't been so angry.

"T-That's right," Albus said in a shaky voice. "N-Not brave enough t-to say it to m-my face, Red?"

Red blanched and sunk into his seat. He seemed scared of Albus even though he was stuttering and shaking.

James stood up, furious. "Get out of here!"

"NO!" Albus shouted. "You've got no right to accuse me!"

James fists shook. "We've got all the right to accuse you! You're a Parselmouth, and it's your fault that Hogwarts is in danger of closing down! That's what all the professors are saying."

Albus stepped back, stung. He whirled around, not wanting to stay there any longer. He ran away as fast he could, barely stopping to pick up his schoolbag, his Transfiguration essay forgotten. He wasn't sure how long he had been running when he heard several high-pitched cackles.

It seemed that the magical creatures he had been looking for had come for him at last. In front of him were five elfish creatures, who he could bizarrely understand. They had round, greenish heads, and vertical pupils, like a cat's. Albus had no idea what they were.

"_Come play with us, Prey!"_

To his shock, a dart from one of the elfish creatures pierced the strap of his book bag, barely missing his shoulder. He gulped. How was he going to get rid of these things? He pulled out his wand and said, _"Protego!" _The strength of his Shield Charm was enough to push the creatures a few feet away from him. They banged on his shield, laughing.

"_Don't you want to play, Prey?"_

"Sorry, I don't like to play much," Albus answered. He felt the dark sensation overcome him again, and he let it take over his actions. He steeled himself, feeling the energy within him charging up. The symbols on his wand lit up, and from its tip came the familiar, dangerous bright green lightning.

It struck one of the creatures. The one who had been hit dropped to the floor, quite dead. Albus took the chance and leapt for the creature, taking out his vial. He saw the wisp of the shadow curl its way into the air, and he swung the vial. He was pleased to see that a bit of the shadow was firmly inside it now. He used a stopper to plug it and slipped it into his pocket.

Furious, the dead creature's companions screamed and lunged toward him. He felt more darts pierce his skin, and he stumbled backwards, suddenly very dizzy and tired from using his energy. To his relief, he heard the footsteps of Ministry workers.

Then he heard the voice. It was heart-stopping, hair-raising, and shiver-inducing. "_Prey. We have your scent. We are coming... but no, it is not you... is it? No. We have failed again. But we will hunt you down, Prey..."_

Albus let out a strangled gasp and whirled around to see the Ministry workers.

"Erklings!" yelled Edgeworth. He whipped his wand through the air, and ropes sprung out of nowhere and tied the Erklings to the ground. They wailed with failure and flailed around. "_Prey, we only wanted to play!"_

"Who killed this one?" Edgeworth asked, pointing to the Erkling that Albus had struck dead.

Albus gulped. "Um..." He mentally slapped himself. All he had to do was lie! "I-I just hit it with my schoolbag," Albus said, shrugging. "I didn't know that would kill it." He gave Edgeworth a convincingly puzzled look.

Edgeworth seemed to think this was a decent explanation, because he did not ask any more questions.

"What's _that?_" asked a Ministry worker. She pointed to the wall.

Albus' heart turned cold, and he remembered that voice. He saw a second-year Hufflepuff girl lying under the wall, unmoving and clearly in the same magical coma as Derlwin and Gerald. Albus recognized her as Janet Abel, the girl he had bumped into on the Hogwarts grounds a few days ago. On the wall above her, written in shadowy writing was:

**WE WILL STOP AT NOTHING**

**TO KILL THE PREY**

**THE REALM IS OPENING**

Edgeworth stared at the eerie message, and his mouth fell open. "This is out of my hands," he said finally. "This is Dark Magic. We need to get the Aurors involved."

Albus watched as the Ministry workers conjured up a stretcher and wheeled Janet Abel to the Hospital Wing.

"POTTER!" Edgeworth snarled. "Get—get to the Hospital Wing for those darts." His face was contorted with fury. "I swear, if you're behind this—you were caught on the scene—I don't care what your father says..."

Once Albus had gotten his wounds cleaned and healed by Madam Pomfrey, he returned to the library. He was relieved to see that James and his popular yet stupid friends weren't there anymore, and Albus spotted Rose and Scorpius sitting alone at the back of the library.

"I've got it," Albus said, holding up the vial with the wisp of shadow inside.

Before Rose and Scorpius could respond, however, a voice rumbled through the school.

"I am sorry to inform you that there has been another attack. Janet Abel is in a coma, but visits are as of now banned. We do not yet know the cure, and anyone with information should come forward. If these attacks do not stop, then Hogwarts may have to close," announced Headmaster Triton.

"We're running out of time," Albus said. "Let's go finish the Umbrelixir."

They nodded silently, sensing the urgency in his voice. They hurried to the second-floor, where the first terrifying message remained. They threw the door to Moaning Myrtle's lavatory open and went into the stall next to hers. She wailed on, but they ignored her.

Albus poured the misty-like shadow into the pitch black potion, and it turned pure silver. It sparkled slightly in the gloom, looking like a mirror. Albus could see his distorted reflection in the surface of the potion.

"Is it done?" Rose asked.

"Should be," Scorpius said.

Albus nodded and scooped up a bit of the potion in his vial. "I think I know what to do. Rose, check to make sure nobody's outside." Rose walked outside and gave them the all clear, and Albus and Scorpius followed her out.

Albus pulled out his wand and threw the vial full of the Umbrelixir into the air. He carefully aimed his wand and shouted, "_Frangere suspendo!" _The vial cracked and shattered, and the potion burst from it. The silver liquid hovered in the air and then expanded, swirling through the corridor.

To the three second-years' shock, certain parts of the air turned black, clearly showing a trail.

"It'll only stay for a minute!" Rose said. "Quick, let's follow it!" They watched it move through the entrance hall (which was mercifully empty since most people had returned to their common rooms in fear of the attacks) and out the front doors.

They ran out and saw that the shadowy trail was twisting its way toward Hagrid's hut. It went past the hut and slowly crept to the Forbidden Forest. Then it flickered and disappeared.

"The Forbidden Forest?" Scorpius asked, looking paler than usual.

"There are Acromantulas in the forest," Rose said nervously. She hated spiders.

"Maybe we should wait?" Scorpius suggested.

Albus sighed. "If we don't go now, we have to go soon..."

He and Scorpius split from Rose and went to the Slytherin common room. It was extremely quiet, and the usual feeling of tension had heightened into something that resembled panic. Albus did not look at anybody but simply went to his dormitory and fell on his bed, tired out from the day's events.

* * *

The night was clear, and a full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the clearing beneath it. Two figures stood there, their silhouettes dark.

One was a man, and another was a woman. They were standing extremely close to each other, and between them was a bundle of blankets. Cradled within the cloth was an adorable baby girl, looking serene in her sleep. As the man and the woman watched, the little girl woke up and opened her eyes, which were a dazzling blue-violet.

"We have to leave," said the woman quietly, looking up. Her eyes were the precise shade of the baby girl's. "She can't grow up in a world like this."

"We can't run from our separate Regiments," said the man. "We have a war to fight. Both of us."

"But our daughter has no battle with anyone," the woman insisted. "Why must she suffer?"

The man sighed undecidedly. He focused his ice-blue eyes on the woman. "We can't abandon our duties."

The woman's—Myrinda's—eyes flashed angrily. "You know that our love is forbidden! We're on opposite sides! If we're found out, we both die, and she does, too! We have to run, Luke."

"But there is nowhere to run! The Paradox is unstoppable. He is quickly destroying the world! We can't run on forever," said the man in despair.

"You're right," Myrinda agreed. "There isn't much time left. But that's it, isn't it? The Paradox is destined to be defeated in this time period."

Luke looked despairingly at the woman. "Nobody's come close to stopping him!"

"Fate does not lie," Myrinda said firmly. "He will be defeated. The war will shift a thousand years."

"Shift a thousand years...," Luke echoed uncertainly.

"That's right," said Myrinda. "The prophecy has been uttered. A thousand years later, a second Paradox will be born—the Final Paradox. He is the only one with enough power to stop the First Paradox, and he's not here to save us."

"But—But—" Luke protested weakly. "You said that the First Paradox will be defeated in _this_ time period! If the only one who can stop him is the Final Paradox—a boy that will be born a thousand years later—then how can the First Paradox die?"

"He cannot die," Myrinda corrected. "The First Paradox will simply be slumbering for a thousand years, until it is time for the real war to begin. A thousand years from now..."

The man looked into the woman's eyes. Icy blue met purplish blue. The baby girl cooed between them, trying to pull her mother's light brown hair.

Then Luke clenched his fists. "I cannot trust a boy made from darkness to save us all! He will be just as evil and twisted as the first, mark my words."

"Then we'll have to keep an eye on him and make sure that he doesn't take the wrong direction," the woman said, unfazed. "It's time, Luke. We're going with our daughter. The Final Paradox will be there to protect her."

Myrinda reached inside her cloak and pulled out a Time-Turner. "I have had it modified so it can take us across generations. It will only work once before it self-destructs."

The man finally seemed convinced that running was the right thing to do. "We will the fight the war. But only when the time comes."

Myrinda locked eyes with the man she loved. "Take my locket. Give it to our daughter when she's old enough to wear it." She took off her locket and wrapped it in the blankets with the baby.

"What do you mean?" asked Luke, confused. "You can give it to her yourself."

Myrinda closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were shining with tears. "I have duties. I have to stop the First Paradox. _I_ have to send him into his slumber, as fate told me I must."

She turned the Time-Turner ten times. Ten centuries. One thousand years later. Then she pressed it into Luke's hand and walked away, out of his reach.

The man's eyes were blazing with anger. "No! We go together!" he shouted at her.

Myrinda turned away.

"You tricked me, Myrinda Lyon."

"I did, Luke Irving."

With the names of their lovers' on their lips, Myrinda and Luke spoke their last words to each other. A moment later, the man flickered and was gone.

* * *

Albus opened his eyes in the darkness. He now knew how Irving could exist in two time periods. He had taken a Time-Turner to a thousand years later. But to do what? Had the war shifted? Albus' mind was reeling, and he couldn't remember quite what the two characters of his dream had spoken...


	16. The Aurors' Arrival

**-Chapter Sixteen-**

**The Aurors' Arrival**

The next day, whispers and rumors filled the corridors. Apparently, the Aurors were coming because Dark Magic was present at Hogwarts, and they were arriving today.

Albus knew his father would come as well, and he was not looking forward to it. What if Harry found out that his son was a Dark Wizard and was practicing Dark Magic himself after Harry had strictly prohibited him from doing so? Albus' father would have no choice but to send his own son to Azkaban.

Albus felt sick and pushed his toast away. He glanced up at the staff table to see that Triton was picking at his food, too, and looked very worried. Edgeworth was sitting there as well, a determined expression on his face. Edgeworth's cold hazel gaze found Albus' blazing green one, and both pairs of eyes blazed with hatred.

A few minutes later, most of the staff got up and departed for the entrance hall, and everyone knew that the Aurors had arrived. Albus waited, gripping his goblet of pumpkin juice and having no intention to drink it. Scorpius, too, looked toward the doors that led to the entrance hall. Then the doors swung open and a large group of Ministry officials came in, and Albus knew they were the highly respected Aurors.

At the front of the group was the Head Auror himself, Harry Potter. Uncle Ron was walking next to him. Albus looked down at his plate, not wanting to meet his father's eyes. Triton hurried back to his spot in the middle of the staff table and cleared his throat.

The action was rather unnecessary, because everyone's attention was already on him.

"Now, I'm sure you all know who are guests are," began Triton. "Hogwarts is in a dire situation, and Harry Potter, Head Auror, is here to help."

There was a large amount of cheering. Albus felt too ill to join in.

"Mr. Potter and his assistant, Ronald Weasley, will be keeping a watch on the school. They and the rest of the Aurors will be patrolling at nighttime, and will follow—uh—_certain_ students."

Albus almost groaned.

"Mr. Potter has also graciously agreed to keep an eye on the Forbidden Forest, and he and his Aurors will give the place a thorough check over."

"Did you hear that?" Scorpius asked excitedly. "Your father is already going to take a look at the Forbidden Forest! We don't have to do anything!"

Albus sighed with relief. "Yeah... that's good. If there's anything there, Dad will find it and stop it."

_He will, right? _I_ won't have to do anything now..._

* * *

The final Dueling match was approaching, and Albus had almost forgotten about it amidst everything else that was going on. Albus had been annoyed to learn that several Aurors were indeed tailing him, and he was unable to even utter one Dark spell in their presence.

On the morning of the match, all the students except for Gryffindor's Team One and Slytherin's Team One left the Great Hall in preparation of the match. Albus and James with their respective teams watched as the green-and-silver and red-and-gold decorations were put up. The stage was assembled, and the duelists waited behind it.

Albus desperately wished that nothing would happen during the final match, but he had a very bad feeling that his wish was not going to come true. James was horsing around as usual, but he gave Albus very nasty looks every few minutes. Albus happily returned them, but he was shriveling up on the inside.

He needed to clear his name, and fast.

A few minutes passed, and the rest of the school was let in for the match. After Irving introduced the duelists and the captains, the match began.

Gryffindor was very formidable, but years of Gryffindor being the best House that got whatever it wanted had spoiled it, and the Slytherins fought with more determination. Only a few matches had passed, and it was clear that both Gryffindor and Slytherin were fighting tooth-and-nail-and-wand.

But the match never got its chance to finish. The doors to the Great Hall burst open unexpectedly, and in came several horrifying creatures. They had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of dragon. Immediately, Albus knew what they were. They were one of the most terrifying monsters in existence, and Albus had thought that he would only have the misfortune to meet them in fairytales.

They were Chimaeras.

"BACK UP!" Edgeworth shouted to the students. His face was very white. "WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS!"

"There are bloody _five_ of them!" yelled Uncle Ron.

Two of the bloodthirsty Chimaeras immediately lunged at the students closest to the entrance of the Great Hall, but the other three charged straight toward where Albus was standing. And something clicked in Albus' brain. He was the Prey. They wanted to kill him.

Albus wouldn't let them. He was barely aware of what he was doing. The only thing he could feel was the dark power growing within him. The nearest Chimaera lunged, but Albus somehow managed to dodge. He knew that he was glowing bright green, and he knew from the screams that everyone was watching him and the three Chimaeras.

The next Chimaera lunged, and this time it got Albus. He was thrown to the ground, and the screams increased in pitch. Miraculously, Albus wasn't hurt at all. He knew it had to do with the bright green light coming from inside him. He stood up as if nothing had happened.

"AL! WATCH OUT!" shouted Albus' father.

Albus whirled around and saw that the other two Chimaeras had crept up behind him. He fell to the ground, feigning weakness. He was playing dead, but he felt more alive than ever before. The Chimaeras leapt at him, roaring.

Albus glowed brighter and brighter green. He closed his eyes. An emerald-green shield expanded around him, though he hadn't raised his wand. A great shockwave emanated from the shield, distorting the air, and the Chimaeras were blasted away with such force that they did not get up again.

"GET THEM!" Edgeworth yelled. The Ministry officials rushed forward and bound the weakened Chimaeras, still unable to believe that a twelve-year-old boy had nearly killed some of the most powerful magical creatures in the world.

Albus felt drained. He tried to get up, but his feet would not support him. He could only hear screaming and shouting, and his ears throbbed. The invincible feeling left him, and he was not pretending when he fell to the ground this time.

* * *

The scarred boy, now old enough to be a man, was standing in pitch darkness. He glowed slightly, and the area around him was illuminated in a ghostly blood-red light.

"Trapped," he said quietly to himself. "Trapped in the place where I was created."

He laughed. The noise echoed around him endlessly. "_Fools._ I will come back, and the wizarding world will be unprepared for power at the scale of mine! Nothing will stop me. I will have a purpose! I will destroy the world! I am the Paradox. _I am a monster._"

He shone brighter and brighter red, and the cackling did not stop.

* * *

Albus blinked blearily. The details about what had happened during the final Dueling Match were a bit fuzzy, but Albus remembered that he had somehow survived an encounter with five Chimaeras, which was unheard of.

He opened his eyes properly and reached toward the bedside table to get his glasses. He put them on and was relieved to see that he was in the Hospital Wing.

"Al! You're okay..." Albus looked up to see his father staring down at him. "We were so worried."

Uncle Ron spoke next. "That was the most brilliant thing I've ever seen. What the _hell_ was that?"

"What?" Albus asked, confused. He could barely remember what had happened.

Harry bit his lip. "We don't have to interrogate him right now, Ron—"

"Oh, but we do," snarled Edgeworth. Albus hadn't noticed him standing behind his father and Uncle Ron. "The boy managed to subdue five Chimaeras at once. That was considered impossible until now."

"What are you getting at?" Uncle Ron snapped. "Spit it out!"

Edgeworth curled his lip. "I believe we have not seen power like the power your son has, Potter."

All the color drained from Albus' father and Uncle Ron's faces, though Albus did not understand why they looked so horrified.

"_No way,"_ Uncle Ron said. "You're not saying that Al's the kid that we're looking for?"

"It's not Al! Al's human!" Harry shouted. Albus had never seen his father this furious. "Get out of here, Edgeworth, this is for family only."

Edgeworth shrugged, but there was a very smug smile on his face as he left.

"Al, no one's accusing you," said Albus' father hurriedly.

"W-What was Edgeworth t-talking about?" Albus demanded.

"Nothing," Ron said unconvincingly.

"Stay here and rest," Harry ordered. "You've been knocked out for a few days. There are a few people who want to see you."

With those words, Albus' father and uncle left. A few minutes later, the door to the Hospital Wing opened again. To Albus' surprise, it wasn't Rose or Scorpius, but instead Elina.

Albus blushed.

"Al! I was so worried!" Elina gasped, throwing her arms around his neck. If possible, Albus went even redder. Her hair smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, and it intoxicated him.

"I'm fine," Albus said, pulling up a fake smile.

Elina hugged him even tighter. "No, you're not. You could have died! And—and it's all my f-fault!" Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"What?" Albus spluttered, completely shocked. "How is it your fault?"

Elina sobbed harder. "I-I d-don't know! I'm sorry! I t-think I'm going m-mad!" she blubbered.

Albus patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. "No, you're not. I'm fine, see?" he said, trying, and failing, to be comforting.

Elina looked up, and her stunning blue-violet eyes were shining with tears. "I'm sorry t-to trouble you with m-my problems," she mumbled. She wiped her tears away and smiled weakly. "I should get going. I'll tell Rose and Scorpius that you've woken up. They were going spare."

"All right," Albus agreed. Elina walked out of the Hospital Wing, and Albus stared after her longingly.

The minutes passed unbearably, but Rose and Scorpius finally came in. Rose hugged Albus just like Elina had, and Scorpius thumped him on the back.

"What you did at the Dueling Match," began Scorpius, "was the wickedest thing I've ever seen."

"I was terrified—you started glowing green—everyone was screaming—the Chimaeras—how did you get rid of them?—then you fell—that shield—that _shockwave_—all five Chimaeras—blasted back—" Rose blabbered on.

"I don't think he needs a summary," Scorpius muttered. Rose ignored him. Albus wondered when she would run out of air, but it took nearly a minute before she stopped to take a breath.

"The Forbidden Forest!" Rose said suddenly. "I'll tell Uncle Harry and Dad that they should go right away!"

After a few more minutes, Rose and Scorpius had nothing else to say to him. They left to ask the Aurors to search the Forbidden Forest. To Albus' chagrin, Madam Pomfrey wasn't letting him get up. She insisted that he had been through a terrible ordeal and he needed his rest. Grumbling, Albus fell back on his bed.

* * *

Albus jerked awake, and judging from the stillness of the air, it was the middle of the night. In front of him, he saw two huge blue orbs staring down at him. He let out a strangled gasp.

It was Dinky the house-elf.

"You!" Albus gasped.

"Albus Potter, sir! Dinky has been very worried about him!" Dinky squeaked, hopping up and down.

"Where did you come from?" Albus demanded.

Dinky looked sheepishly at her feet. "Dinky has been watching Albus Potter! Dinky has been ordered to."

"Tell me who you are! Properly!" Albus snapped. "There's something strange about you! You're not a normal house-elf!"

Dinky glared at him. "Dinky cannot tell! Master grows ever more powerful as the minutes pass, and soon darkness will consume the world!"

Something clicked in Albus' mind. "M-Master... You work for the Paradox!"

Dinky looked horrified that she had revealed this. "No! It is not what Albus Potter thinks! Dinky does not respect Master! Dinky does not agree with Master!" She put a hand on his shoulder, silently pleading him to listen to her.

"G-Get away from me!" Albus snarled, shaking her hand off him.

Dinky glared. "If Albus Potter wishes not to listen, then he will regret it! Dinky is angry at him!" With a loud _crack,_ Dinky disappeared into thin air.

Albus blankly stared at the spot where Dinky had been, unable to believe that she worked for Cryptan. Had she been trying to trick him, or had she sincerely wanted to help him?

Then he heard a voice. That terrible voice. The hair-raising, shiver-inducing, heart-stopping noise.

"_Prey... we have caught scent of you... we will kill you... but it is not you. We have failed, again. But will not stop. We _will_ kill you, no matter what the cost..."_

Albus let out a strangled gasp, but the voice had stopped.

He fell back to sleep, and the next time he woke up, it was Madam Pomfrey that was standing above him. "The Ministry officials and the professors want to see you in the Headmaster's Office," said Madam Pomfrey. "You should go right away, but I'm not sure if they're ready for you yet."

Albus nodded, changed into his robes, and walked out of the Hospital Wing, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. He knew what the Ministry wanted to talk to him about: the latest Dueling Match and how he, a twelve-year-old boy, had managed to subdue five Chimaeras without help.

He reached the gargoyle that marked the entrance to the Headmaster's Office and said, "Harry James Potter." The gargoyle leapt aside and Albus took the spiral staircase up to Triton's office. Albus pushed open the door and stepped in. To his surprise, it was empty.

The portraits were sleeping—or feigning sleep—on the walls, and Albus spotted both Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore snoring. After watching them for a few seconds, Albus walked across the circular room and sat down in the chair in front of the Headmaster's desk.

Then he spotted the Sorting Hat sitting on a shelf behind the desk. It was just there, out in the open. Albus stared at it. He could remember his own Sorting as if it had occurred yesterday:

'_Insecure, dangerous, powerful... _deadly_... a destiny greater than anyone else's...'_

Albus gulped. Perhaps he could ask the Sorting Hat again? Just to check, just to learn more about this 'destiny' of his... Albus quietly walked around the desk, lifted the hat from its shelf, and lowered it slowly onto his head. It slipped down over his eyes, just like the last time that he had put it on. He stared at the black inside of the hat, waiting for something to happen. Then Albus heard a small voice in his ear.

"Bee in your bonnet, Albus Potter?"

Albus jumped slightly. "Er, yes. I-I wanted t-to ask you—"

"You wanted to ask me about your destiny," said the hat smartly. "Well, you have a complicated one. You were particularly difficult to Sort. I hadn't seen anyone quite like you before."

Albus waited for the hat to continue, his knuckles white.

"You've changed," the hat noticed. "The bravery inside you has grown far quicker than I expected. You don't stutter much anymore—oh—you've started standing up for yourself! You might have done well in Gryffindor, but it wasn't right for you. You don't have the same morals."

Albus wished that the hat would hurry up.

"No, I see that you are a Slytherin. Experimenting with Dark Magic, aren't you? Well, I knew you would. You have that terrible power within you, and I knew you wouldn't be able to resist taking advantage of your—ah—_strange_ talents. If you're not carefuly, you might destroy those who you love because of your own insecurity and dark desires. Such a shame, really."

Albus gasped. He grabbed the point of the hat and pulled it off. It hung limply in his grip, patched and disintegrating. He pushed it back on its shelf, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach. "Y-Y-You're w-wrong," Albus told the hat shakily. It stayed still and silent. He backed away, watching it. Then a voice behind him made him whirl around to face the portraits.

"Perhaps you should listen to it," advised the pleasant voice.

It belonged to Albus Dumbledore. Albus gaped. Apparently, Dumbledore had been awake this whole time. Snape was watching Albus, too. He had only spoken to Snape once, and that was to the portrait in the Slytherin common room. Snape rarely occupied that portrait, however, and Albus hadn't seen him since. But Albus had never spoken to Dumbledore before.

A bit shy, Albus looked at the ground. "H-Hello, Professor Dumbledore." He had heard many things about the wise and brave previous Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Oh, look, Severus," said Dumbledore happily. "He looks just like Harry, right down to the round glasses—the only difference is the freckles."

_I've heard, _Albus thought.

"He's in Slytherin," Snape pointed out, regarding Albus with his beady, black eyes.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes... the silver and green looks good on you, Mr. Potter."

"T-Thanks?" Albus said uncertainly.

"Now, I won't force you to tell me what the Sorting Hat—bless it—said to you," began Dumbledore lightly, "but perhaps you'd like to hear a bit of advice from an old man?"

"Er—all right," Albus said, completely confused.

"Can I call you 'Al'? Yes? Well, then, I shall say that _it is our choices, Al, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities_," Dumbledore said, a small smile on his face.

Albus nodded, but he felt as if he was sinking into the ground. Albus had chosen Slytherin. (He was proud of that choice.) He had chosen Dark Magic. (He _wasn't_ proud of that choice.) Dumbledore's advice was useless.

Dumbledore wasn't done yet. "It is never too late. Better wizards than you have made mistakes and made them up." At this moment, he looked at Snape, whose expression was unfathomable.

Albus was silent, ignoring this mute exchange between the two portraits. _How much does he know about me? _Albus wondered.

"_Remember, help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," _Dumbledore continued cryptically.

At that moment, the door to the office burst open, and in came James. Albus whirled around. "What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised.

James glared at him, but did not answer.

Albus sneered, "I bet you played a prank and got caught and sent here, because you'd find it fun to play pranks on some poor Slytherin first year, even if the school was falling apart—which it _is_—"

"You don't understand, Snivellus," spat James. "Pranks raise everyone's spirits."

"Not to the person who's being pranked, no," Albus snarled. "But you've never been pranked, teased, or bullied before, right? You're the Perfect Potter who everyone loves. And you find it really fun to accuse your own brother of being a mad attacker in front of the whole school, don't you?"

James narrowed his eyes. "You're a _monster._ It could be you. Who defeats five Chimaeras at once and survives?"

Albus snorted. "Oh, do I hear _jealously_? Jealous of your monster and freak of a brother? Now, _that's_ funny."

James gritted his teeth and growled, "_You're_ jealous of me. You admitted it ten times already."

"You need to deflate your head," Albus snapped, though he knew James was right. "You've never done anything but prank the Slytherins to tears."

"And what have you done?" James retaliated.

Albus widened his eyes angrily. "N-Nothing, nothing at all! I'm just the resident school loser, and everyone finds it fun to call me the traitor and step on me. I've done n-nothing but save the world from the Phantasm Orb. And yet, you don't hear me b-bragging about it."

Bizarrely, James looked jealous—jealous that his brother had been the hero last year like their father had been so many years ago. He looked furious, too. The only thing he could say was, "_Freak!_"

Albus turned his head. He was close to crying or yelling. "F-Fine. I'm a monster. Happy? I'm a Parselmouth, and I don't know how. I'm endangering the whole school—"

Before Albus could finish insulting himself, the door opened a second time. This time, it was Neville. "Al, James, you have to go back to your common rooms," Neville said worriedly.

"Sir, I was supposed to meet the Ministry and the Headmaster," Albus said.

"So, does this mean I don't get points taken off?" James asked at the same time as Albus.

"Just get back to your common rooms. There's been another attack," Neville said sadly. "It was on a house-elf called Dinky. She's now in that awful coma. That makes Mr. Derlwin, Mr. Erwett, Miss Abel, and now the house-elf. It's odd that she's even here, because she's not under our employment."

Albus' mouth dropped open. _Dinky _had been attacked? How? Feeling horrified and a bit guilty for accusing Dinky, Albus returned to the Slytherin common room. By that time, the announcement of Dinky's fate had been made on the magical intercom, and everyone was so shocked that they didn't even have the courage to look suspiciously at Albus.

How could there have been another attack right under Harry Potter and the rest of the Ministry's nose?

* * *

The next day—which was the day before the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw Quidditch match—Albus went straight to the library to meet Rose and Scorpius. They did not look happy. Rose was frantically looking through a stack of books, and her orange hair was frizzier than usual. Scorpius was also sorting through books, though not as desperately.

"What happened?" Albus asked as he approached them.

"I just don't understand!" Rose said angrily. "Dad and Uncle Harry already searched the Forbidden Forest yesterday after the attack on that house-elf, and they didn't find anything odd at all! All the creatures that were there were supposed to be there, and they didn't see any shadows or anything!"

"What?" Albus gasped. "But that makes no sense! We made the Umbrelixir, and it led straight into the Forbidden Forest!"

"There's something really strange going on here," Rose said.

"Oh, is there?" Scorpius asked sarcastically.

Rose gave him a very nasty look. She turned to Albus and said, "I've looked at every book possible and I even sent a letter to Mum at the Ministry! She's not supposed to be involved in all of this, but she must know something!"

Albus sighed. "I don't know, Rose. Aunt Hermione didn't know about the shadows. And Dad and Uncle Ron didn't manage to stop the attacks, and they're the best Aurors there are. After the Quidditch match tomorrow, I'm going into the Forbidden Forest myself. There must be _something_ they missed."

"But what makes you think that we'll find anything if the Aurors couldn't?" Scorpius asked.

Albus smiled bitterly. "I'm the Prey, remember? The creatures might not come out unless I'm nearby."

Rose and Scorpius exchanged worried looks. "We'll come," Rose said finally, nudging Scorpius, who hesitated, but eventually nodded.

Albus determinedly said, "It's up to us now."


	17. The Sapphire Unicorn

**-Chapter Seventeen-**

**The Sapphire Unicorn**

The morning of the Slytherin versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match dawned stormy and rainy, as usual. Albus dragged himself through the ice-cold dungeons and out into the Great Hall, where nobody looked at him, not even to insult him. Albus was used to this, and he made a beeline toward the Slytherin table, where nobody looked at him, either.

To his relief, Rose and Scorpius were waiting for him next to the table.

"Good luck!" Rose said, hugging him.

"Yeah, I hope nothing happens," Scorpius said.

Albus sighed. "Me, too."

Rose bit her lip. "I've been wondering... Why were Eric, Gerald Erwett, Janet Abel, and the house-elf attacked? I mean, the creatures are supposed to be going after you, right? If so, why did they attack other students and put them in a coma?"

Albus shrugged.

Scorpius snorted. "Maybe they liked their scent and were hungry."

Rose's eyes lit up. "Oh—wait—_I get it now_!"

"What?" Albus asked, confused.

"The Restricted Section! I have to check something! I don't know why Mum couldn't find it! That's it, there must only be one copy—" Rose said eagerly.

"What are you talking about?" Scorpius asked.

"I'm going to the library!" Rose said. "I don't know—but _yes_—that's got to be it—"

"Either tell us what you're going on about, or shut up," Scorpius snapped.

Rose gave him a very dirty look and said, "I'll tell you later! There's no time right now!" With that, she ran out of the Great Hall, presumably toward the library.

"Er—it looks like she realized something," Albus said, surprised. He knew Rose was smart and knew a lot of things because of the books she read, but she rarely showed her brilliance and preferred to prank and joke around.

"Let's forget about it," Scorpius suggested.

Albus was about to nod, but then, he heard that voice. That voice that send shivers down his spine and nearly made his heart stop. That terrifying voice.

"_Prey... we have scented you... no. It was another mistake... you keep evading us... Prey... but we will kill you... We promise..."_

"That voice again!" Albus gasped. He looked around frantically.

"What are you talking about?" Scorpius said. "Come on, let's go."

Albus looked around distractedly, trying to find the source of the voice, but it had stopped.

After picking at his breakfast, he went to the Slytherin changing rooms with the rest of the Quidditch team. Hemley's pep-talk was absolutely pitiful, and the Slytherin team walked out onto the pitch in low spirits.

They were greeted with loud booing and jeering, which was also routine. Madam Hooch walked out onto the pitch as well and asked the Captains to shake hands.

But the match never got started. A roar loud enough to shake the stands echoed through the pitch. A second roar joined it, and then a third.

Albus finally saw the creatures that were the source of the roars. His mouth dropped open. The beasts were very hairy, and had reddish-brown fur. Their most horrifying quality, however, was their five hairy legs, which ended with thick club-foots. He had heard stories about them from various relatives, and he immediately knew what they were.

_Quintapeds. _

All the Ministry officials ran down to the pitch immediately and started shooting spells at the Quintapeds, who roared in pain. Albus backed away slowly, not sure what to do.

But he didn't need to do anything. The Ministry officials, with Edgeworth at their head, managed to put down the Quintapeds. It took nearly twenty people, and Albus' father, uncle, and the Aurors had to help.

Suddenly, Neville came rushing out of the castle and hurried toward the Ministry workers. "There's been another attack!"

Albus gasped. There was utter silence.

"THE QUIDDITCH MATCH IS CANCELED!" Edgeworth shouted to the waiting Quidditch players, who all groaned. "GO TO YOUR COMMON ROOMS RIGHT AWAY!"

Albus met up with Scorpius near the stands, and the two of them walked toward the castle together.

"Where's Rose?" asked Scorpius.

"Maybe she's still in the library?" Albus suggested. "She figured something out, before the match, didn't she? Maybe she saw something."

Albus and Scorpius walked into the castle with the intention of going to the library, but they were stopped by the Ministry workers.

"You two should come with us," said Edgeworth coldly.

"What?" Scorpius spluttered.

"Y-You can't possibly be accusing me for this!" Albus snapped. "I was standing in the middle of the pitch!"

"It's n-not that," Uncle Ron whispered. Albus stared at him. Uncle Ron's blue eyes were very wet, and he was sniffling.

Albus glanced toward his father, who looked very white.

Albus and Scorpius suddenly understood what had happened.

"_No,"_ Albus whispered.

"Come with us to the Hospital Wing," ordered Edgeworth. "She's there."

As if they were in a trance, the two boys followed Edgeworth and the Ministry workers to the Hospital Wing. There were now five beds that had curtains. Uncle Ron stopped by the nearest one and pushed it open.

There lay Rose, very pale and still. Her bushy orange hair was spread out on her pillow, and her eyes were closed. She looked as if she were sleeping. One of her hands was loosely clenched, as if she had been holding something, but had dropped it.

"She w-was f-found in the library. S-She won't wake up!" Uncle Ron gasped, stroking her freckled forehead. "W-We tried everything..."

Albus and Scorpius stared at their best friend's small figure, unable to believe their eyes.

"_Why couldn't we stop this?"_ Harry asked through gritted teeth. "_What is this?_ This isn't just Dark Magic... this is unheard of..."

"She was just about to figure something out," Scorpius said blankly. "But she wouldn't tell us... she had to check at the library."

This was too much for Uncle Ron. He burst into tears. "J-Just like H-Hermione!"

Harry's mouth fell open. "Check her hand, Ron," he said quickly.

Confused, Uncle Ron glanced at Rose's half-clenched hand and opened it gently. "There's n-nothing, Harry," Uncle Ron said sadly, shaking his head. "We'll call H-Hermione and H-Hugo. They'll want t-to see her..." Ron wiped tears from his eyes.

Harry nodded. "Yes, we should. I'll go do it. Al, Mr. Malfoy, let's leave Ron and Rose right now. Go back to your common room. It's dangerous here, and the Aurors can't do anything to stop it."

Albus and Scorpius nodded slowly, not properly listening. They walked back to the dungeons. And then the full horror of the situation hit them. Rose was in a magical coma that was probably caused by Dark Magic, and nobody knew how to get her out of it. She was _never_ waking up.

Before they could stop themselves, both boys started crying.

* * *

Summer was creeping closer, though it was hard to tell because of the constant clouds and rain. There was no laughter and happiness present at all. Rose's 'death' had caused much panic, since she was well-known. The Aurors and the other Ministry workers were crawling around the grounds and the in the castle, and simply smiling would cause suspicion.

Unfortunately, all thoughts about visiting the Forbidden Forest had been driven from Albus' mind in the light of the current situation. The exams were nearing, but neither Albus nor Scorpius could bring themselves to study without Rose prodding them to (even though they didn't need to) and being jealous of their talent.

Albus could not imagine life without Rose. He had known her ever since the day he had been born, and they had been inseparable ever since. She was his first best friend, and she wasn't coming back.

Unsurprisingly, Aunt Hermione and Hugo came to Hogwarts to visit Rose. Albus had been shocked to see his powerful Aunt Hermione, the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department, reduced to tears. Hugo, however, didn't believe that Rose was as good as dead. He would recite possible magical ailments that Rose could be suffering from to anyone who would listen, and he was driving everyone insane because of it.

Albus and Scorpius ended up avoiding the library completely, because it brought back too many memories. Albus remembered how Rose had just been about to figure something important out, but had been attacked by whatever was putting random students in coma before she could tell anyone.

"She was so close," Scorpius whispered. "But she's dead. She's dead. She's dead. She's dead."

"Will you please shut up?" Albus snapped. They were moping around in the Slytherin common room, not bothering to study or do anything productive.

"No! She's dead, Al! _Rose is dead!_ They don't know how to cure her or any of the other people who got attacked! She'll be lying there forever! She'll grow old and she'll still be in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts!" Scorpius snarled.

Albus felt sick. "It's my fault. It's got to be my fault! I mean—the magical creatures and the shadows—whatever they are—are here because of me!"

Scorpius shook his head. "You're the Prey, but Rose isn't. Maybe what happened to her, Derlwin, Gerald, Janet Abel, and that house-elf isn't related to the whole magical creature-thing at all."

"That's what she was just about to figure out before she got attacked herself!" Albus groaned.

Suddenly, Scorpius' eyes lit up. "Al—the Forbidden Forest!"

Albus suddenly understood what Scorpius was trying to tell him. "We completely forgot about it! It's been a month since Rose was attacked!"

"If you're the Prey, do you think whatever's in there might come out if it didn't for the Aurors?" Scorpius asked eagerly.

"We have to try, in any case. To make sure that Rose didn't die in vain. I'm getting out my Invisibility Cloak," Albus said determinedly. _"Tonight."_

* * *

Albus and Scorpius waited until the Slytherin common room was empty. After giving the place a thorough check and putting on Albus' Invisibility Cloak, they headed through the dungeons. Unsurprisingly, the dungeons were filled with Ministry workers keeping an eye out for suspicious activity, and Albus and Scorpius had to take extra care not to make noise.

Finally, they made it out to the castle grounds. It was drizzling. Ministry workers were also crawling around here, so Albus and Scorpius weren't able to take off the cloak. They continued along the path that took them to Hagrid's hut, passed it, and stopped in front of the Forbidden Forest.

"I feel ill," Scorpius said, trying hopelessly to get out of going into the forest.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Come on. I went inside last year, and nothing _that_ bad happened. I-I just heard a bodiless voice that told me of coming world destruction."

"There are Acromantulas in the forest," Scorpius added, as if he hadn't made his point.

Unable to put it off any further, the two boys stepped into the thick leaves, stumbling on the large roots. Albus took off the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it beneath his robes, knowing that they would not need it in the pitch-blackness of the forest.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Scorpius asked once they had been walking for a few minutes.

"I don't know," Albus snapped. "I didn't have the time to come up with something, okay? Let's wander around for ten minutes and see if something happens."

"Good plan," Scorpius said sarcastically.

Before Albus could come up with a scathing reply, he heard a rustling noise ahead of him.

"What was that?" Scorpius asked hoarsely.

Albus did not say anything. He carefully watched the bush ahead of him, waiting... then a large figure in a thick, half-inch cloak glided out of the leaves. Scorpius let out a strangled wheezing noise, and Albus stepped on his foot to make him shut up.

"A Lethifold," Albus said quietly.

"How do you get rid of it?" Scorpius whispered, watching it with wide eyes.

"I-I don't know," Albus responded out of the corner of his mouth. "Rose would know... but she's not here!"

"I'll try a Stunner," Scorpius suggested, taking out his wand. "_Stupefy!" _A jet of red light shot out of his wand and hit the Lethifold, which paused, surprised.

"D-Didn't work," Albus said unnecessarily. The Lethifold turned around slowly and spotted Albus and Scorpius. "Stay still," Albus said through gritted teeth.

The Lethifold began gliding its way toward them, and its cloak expanded.

"It's already seen us...," Scorpius croaked, still frozen.

"_Run_," Albus advised. They didn't need telling twice. The two boys ran off at full speed, not sure where they were going. They pushed their way through the bushes, and thorns snagged their robes and leaves got caught in their hair.

The Lethifold wasn't giving up so easily. It glided faster, not bothered by the thick foliage. Albus looked back desperately to see that it was only a few yards behind them.

"FASTER!" he yelled to Scorpius. Before he could take out his wand to use the Accelerating Charm, however, he tripped over a large root, pulling Scorpius down with him.

Swearing, the boys untangled themselves and got back up, but the Lethifold was upon them at last. It let out a longing sigh, and its pitch-black robes opened like some bizarre mouth. Albus tried to figure out what to do, and the gears in his head started turning faster. "The Invisibility Cloak!" he finally choked out. He reached under his robes to pull out the cloak and threw it over him and Scorpius.

The Lethifold stopped opening its mouth, confused that its prey had suddenly disappeared. It was not shocked forever, and it seemed to sense them as they slowly inched away. It lunged.

"Run again?" Scorpius asked.

Albus did not reply. In a second, they were dashing through the leaves and jumping over the roots, not daring to look back. They both performed the Accelerating Charm on themselves and went even faster, but the Lethifold also increased its speed, refusing to lose its dinner so easily.

Finally, they could run no more. Albus had no idea where they were, except that they were hopelessly lost.

"We're going to die!" Scorpius wailed.

The gears in Albus' head turned even faster, and he suddenly had an idea. "Split up! We have to confuse it! You take the Invisibility Cloak," Albus ordered frantically, glancing behind his back. The Lethifold was speeding closer, and its black cloak expanded even more.

"No!" Scorpius protested, catching on quickly.

"RUN!" Albus shouted, ignoring him.

He pushed the cloak off of him and into Scorpius' arms. Then he darted to the left. Scorpius put the Invisibility Cloak on and sprinted to the right. The trick worked. The Lethifold stopped, utterly confused. It stood there for a split second, giving Albus and Scorpius precious time to escape.

It chose the left path, but Albus had already disappeared into the bushes. After running for several minutes, he stopped to lean against a tree. Panting, Albus wondered where Scorpius was and if he had managed to escape.

Suddenly, a bright blue light appeared in front of him. Albus stumbled backwards, blinded. He peered through his eyelashes to see the blue light pulsing and spreading. As he watched, it grew and assumed a shape. Albus couldn't believe his eyes.

In front of him was a Unicorn. But she was not any Unicorn—she was a Sapphire Unicorn. She was a rare, noble creature that existed only in legends, and Albus' mouth dropped open in amazement as he looked at her. The Sapphire Unicorn had dark blue, almost black, eyes that sparkled even though it was dark. Her skin, instead of white, was a stunning shade of blue. The Sapphire Unicorn seemed to give off an eternal glow, and she slowly turned her beautiful head to look at Albus.

"_Child, you have gone through much...," _she whispered. Her voice was kind, gentle, and sweet, and it was full of unspoken wisdom.

"YOU!" Albus yelled. "T-The voice that I-I heard in the forest last year b-belonged to _you_! You're the one who w-warned m-me about the Phantasm Orb!"

"_Yes. I rarely show myself to humans, but I must make an exception tonight. My Guardian is in grave danger," _breathed the Sapphire Unicorn.

"Guardian?" Albus asked, confused.

"_My Guardian, the _Eternal Maiden_...," _the Sapphire Unicorn explained. "_She is a young girl of unrivaled beauty, kindness, and generosity."_

"Wha—what?" Albus spluttered.

"_The Eternal Maiden has a special connection with nature, and she stands beside and protects every living creature. She lived her whole life at the school, and she is corrupted. A terrible, dark essence—much like _you_—is eating away at her soul."_

"Eating away at her soul—a dark essence—like _me_—_what?" _Albus croaked.

"_She is dying... and soon the dark essence infecting her will take over, and it has already started to...time is running out... Life is leaving the Eternal Maiden, and only you can save her... The _Shadow Realm_ is quickly opening..."_

Albus stood there, gaping, unable to comprehend what the Sapphire Unicorn was telling him. Shadow Realm? Hadn't the writing on the wall said something about a 'Realm'?

He heard something rustling behind him. The noise grew louder, and now it resembled something with many legs scuttling over the leaves. Albus whirled around, and wished that he hadn't. The bushes in front of him burst open, and from them came Scorpius, an expression of the utmost terror on his face. The Invisibility Cloak was on crookedly, so Scorpius' whole left side was invisible.

Albus looked behind him to see that the Sapphire Unicorn had disappeared, and the blue light was no longer there.

"RUN!" screamed Scorpius, grabbing Albus' arm and pulling him forward. "ACROMANTULAS! THEY'RE—_REALLY_—HUNGRY!" To Albus' horror, black, hairy, eight-legged, and eight-eyed creatures the size of carthorses came bursting out of the bushes, clicking their pincers hungrily.

"_Prey." _Click._ "Prey." _Click._ "Prey."_

Albus didn't need telling twice. He and Scorpius darted away as fast as they could, not bothering to put the Invisibility Cloak on properly. The gigantic spiders gave chase, scuttling over the leaves at top speed. Casting whatever spells came to mind at the Acromantulas and yelling at the top of their voices, the two boys finally arrived at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

But the Acromantulas hadn't given up yet. Clicking furiously, they pursued Albus and Scorpius across the castle grounds. The Ministry workers patrolling the area came running towards them, shooting Stunners at the Acromantulas. Hagrid himself came bursting from his hut, started throwing things (including a large bed) at the Acromantulas, and shouting, "Why are yeh doin' this, eh? Ever since Aragog died, his family's bin goin' crazy!"

"_Prey." _Click._ "Prey." _Click._ "Prey."_

Albus and Scorpius slowly backed away from the scene, and Albus stuffed the Invisibility Cloak underneath his robes.

"We're going to be expelled for this," Scorpius groaned.

Finally, all the Acromantulas were properly Stunned, and Albus and Scorpius were led into the castle. Apparently, all the commotion had led most of the people patrolling inside to the steps of the castle. Albus saw his father waiting at the front, white-faced and furious.

_Uh-oh._

"Dad?" Albus said hopefully. His father rushed forward and enveloped him in a hug.

Then Harry stepped back and started shouting at the top of his voice. "DISOBEY RULES—BLOODY ACROMANTULAS—WAIT UNTIL I TELL YOUR _MOTHER_—"

A few of Harry's colleagues made him shut up, and Albus and Scorpius were forced to walk back to the dungeons. Albus' father was still steaming, and Albus was grateful that his father wasn't as temperamental as his mother.

"You could have _died_! Why? Why would you endanger yourself like this? TELL ME!" Harry ordered angrily, stopping at the entrance of the dungeons.

Albus looked at the ground and muttered, "W-We just wanted t-to help..."

Harry took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down. "Twenty points from Slytherin!" he finally said.

Scorpius and Albus exchanged horrified looks, but were at least glad that they weren't going to be expelled. They had gotten off easily.

The Ministry workers did not leave them alone until they had reached the Slytherin common room. Once they were safely barricaded in their dormitory with Oswald Nesbitt, (who looked extremely confused) Scorpius said, "Well, that was utterly pointless. We nearly died."

Albus wasn't so sure. The Sapphire Unicorn's words came back to him, and he knew that he had a new lead:

_Elina Lyon._


	18. The Final Victim

**-Chapter Eighteen-**

**The Final Victim**

Hogwarts couldn't have been any gloomier as the days went on. Albus dreaded to attend classes, especially when Rose wasn't there. The exams were approaching, but Albus and Scorpius hadn't done any studying at all, and Albus seriously doubted that _anyone_ had bothered to study.

The Ministry officials and Aurors continued to prowl the school, but Albus and Scorpius had already agreed that they were useless. Whatever terrible thing that was happening at Hogwarts was, it was out of even Harry Potter's control.

But Albus and Scorpius had absolutely no idea what it was. Rose had been the only one who might have come close to figuring it out, but she certainly couldn't tell anyone in her current condition.

The evening before the first day of the exams, Albus and Scorpius were sulking in the Slytherin common room, staring out the window that depicted the inside of the Black Lake.

Scorpius, as always, was determinedly being as pessimistic as possible. "First of all, Rose is dead. Second, we're going to fail all of our exams. Third, Hogwarts is going to close down. Fourth, did I mention that Rose is dead?"

Albus tried to ignore him. "I'm going for a walk. It's not raining that hard anymore."

Scorpius groaned and smacked his forehead against the glass. "I bet you two sickles that it'll be pouring again in a minute."

Albus did not respond. He feared for Scorpius' mental health. He dragged himself out of the Slytherin common room and the dungeons, wanting to get away from all the gloom. Rose would know what to do. She was so energetic and optimistic—the opposite of Scorpius—that she was always able to cheer anyone up.

But in her current state, the only thing Rose was doing was making everyone even sadder. Finally, Albus walked out of the castle and onto the grounds. It was mainly empty, except for a few Ministry workers and a few older students who were determined to make the best of their last day before exams.

To Albus surprise, Elina was sitting underneath a large willow by the lake. He made a beeline toward her, the blush creeping up his face. "Hello," he said quietly, sitting down beside her.

Elina looked up. He noticed that she looked very tired and slightly ill. He couldn't blame her.

"Hi, Al," she said, smiling. Then she sighed, and the grin slipped off her face. "I miss Rose."

"I do, too," Albus whispered.

"But she's not dead yet," Elina insisted. She reached toward her neck and clutched her round, golden locket. It was slightly bulky, which made Albus wonder if there was something inside it.

"C-Can you open it?" Albus asked nervously, pointing to the locket.

Elina turned pink. "Oh... Well, I've tried really hard, but I can't. Not even a little bit."

Albus stared at her intensely, and both of them went even redder.

"Actually, I've been hoping that I'd run into you," Elina said. She reached behind her neck and took off the necklace and the locket. "I just have the feeling that something really, really bad is going to happen. Worse than anything else this year."

"W-What?" Albus asked, confused.

"Take this..." Elina handed him her locket.

"What? B-But it's your mother's...," Albus protested, trying to give it back. She didn't accept it, however.

"Keep it safe, please," Elina begged. Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Albus turned a shade redder than the shade of the hair of a Weasley. He felt extremely dizzy and lightheaded, and he was alarmingly close to fainting.

Elina giggled.

It started to rain. The downpour was so heavy that Albus and Elina were soaked within seconds. "I should go," Elina said.

Albus suddenly remembered what the Sapphire Unicorn had said. "Elina—wait! Do you feel—er—okay?" Albus mentally slapped himself. Of course Elina wasn't okay—_nobody_ was okay!

Elina gave him a strange look. "Um..."

Albus threw caution to the winds and asked, "Do you know what the Eternal Maiden is?"

Elina looked utterly confused. "No... Are _you_ all right, Al? You're acting really weird. Maybe I should leave..."

"No! Wait!" Albus stood up, but Elina was already running away, across the castle grounds. He sighed and fell back to the ground, clutching her locket. He slipped it inside his pocket, promising himself that he would never lose it. He touched the spot on his cheek where she had kissed him, and the blush intensified. He was glad that Elina wasn't there anymore to see him grinning like an idiot.

Then he noticed that he was soaking wet and that lightning was crackling in the sky above and thunder was booming through the Hogwarts grounds. He stood up and walked swiftly back inside the castle and through the dungeons.

Unsurprisingly, Scorpius was still banging his head on the window that showed the inside of the Black Lake.

"I was right about the rain, wasn't I?" Scorpius asked.

"Shut it."

Gloomily, the two boys stared out the window, watching a school of small silver fish dart by. Albus was just about ready to go to bed, but then he remembered something.

"Scorpius—wake up—Rose's hand!" Albus said, jumping.

Scorpius turned his head so quickly that he cricked his neck. "What?"

"Don't you remember? Rose's hand—she was holding something!" Albus said eagerly.

"But there wasn't anything there," Scorpius said, looking confused.

"She was holding something, but she dropped it!" Albus gasped. "She was found in the library—why didn't we check there before? Maybe whatever she dropped fell down there!"

Scorpius suddenly understood. "Let's go right now!" he said. They ran out of the common room and through the dungeons, climbing stairs to get to the library. But Albus' heart sunk back down to his feet when they arrived.

The library was full of students studying for the exams, but there was nothing extremely suspicious about the place. It was likely that whatever Rose had dropped wasn't there anymore.

"She said something about the Restricted Section before she was attacked," Albus muttered desperately, scanning the floor. Several pieces of paper littered the ground, but none of them were especially interesting.

The two boys hurried to the roped-off section, where things were much quieter and cleaner. They got as close as they could until Madam Pince hissed at them and got on their knees. The minutes passed on unbearably, and Albus' heart beat frantically.

Finally, Scorpius whispered, "I've got it." He held up a small, folded piece of parchment.

Albus reached over and snatched it from Scorpius. With shaking hands, he unfolded it and read the words on it. It looked to be a page torn from a book.

_Tenebrums, or Dark Shadows, are created from Dark Magic, and they survive by creating a body for themselves. They usually choose to act as various magical creatures. If Tenebrums come in contact with a human or a human-like creature, they will take residence inside the human and settle over the human or human-like creature's heart. This will send the victim into an irreversible and eternal sleep._

_It is unknown where Tenebrums come from or whether they exist, but most records of them come from the medieval times. The Tenebrums may be employed, and usually follow orders of an extremely powerful Dark Wizard who can control them. It is rumored that a terrible Scepter holds their power._

_They are skilled assassinators, and they rely on their sense of smell to find and kill their victim. They are very picky, however, and will only kill the person who they were ordered to kill. They call this person 'Prey' and attempt to communicate with him or her. If they run across someone with the victim's scent, they will send them into the eternal sleep._

_Tenebrums can turn invisible at will and they cannot be sensed by spells. The only beings who can sense them and their intentions are ghosts, though they can only do so very faintly. Tenebrums cannot be destroyed, even if the creature that they created is killed. _

And beneath this, a single word had been written in Rose's handwriting: _Realm._

Albus suddenly understood everything that had happened that year.

"Realm...," Scorpius said. "What does that mean?"

But Albus was thinking about something else. "Scent. _Scent. _The people that got attacked must have had my scent on them!"

Scorpius' eyes lit up in comprehension. "How? How did they get your scent on them?"

Albus wracked his brain to remember. "Derlwin... well, James attacked me in the corridor, and Derlwin held me to the wall. Gerald—er—"

"We were attacked by a bunch of thugs, remember?" Scorpius said eagerly. "You patted Gerald on the back after he tricked them, I think!"

"And Janet Abel... some Gryffindors pushed me into her on the grounds...," Albus continued.

"The house-elf?" questioned Scorpius.

"She came to see me... and she put her hand on my shoulder," Albus recalled.

"And Rose hugged you before the match!" Scorpius finished.

Albus felt sick. "So, all of this _is_ my fault... all those people... they're 'dead' because of me..."

Scorpius was unable to say anything helpful. Instead, he muttered, "That's why you heard those voices at the beginning of the year, didn't you? And the ghosts kept telling us about danger at Hogwarts. They must have sensed the presence of the Tenebrums."

"Yeah...," Albus said, shaking himself slightly. "The Tenebrums were communicating with me, and that's why nobody else could hear them..."

The two boys crouched in silence, still on the library floor.

"But we can't kill them," Scorpius grumbled.

"The Umbrelixir led to the Forbidden Forest," Albus said. "So the Tenebrums are coming from there!"

"That's what we thought, but the Aurors didn't find anything, and we didn't, either," Scorpius pointed out.

"But look—_Realm!_" Albus said quickly, pointing to the small word in Rose's handwriting. "The messages on the wall said that the Realm was 'opening.' The entrance of the Realm has got to be somewhere in the Forbidden Forest!"

"But we didn't find it!" Scorpius snapped. "Even with you there, it didn't open or anything!"

"I don't know, okay?" Albus snarled. "But it's the best lead we've got. We have to tell Dad and the Aurors right away!"

Scorpius nodded, and the two of them got off the ground and ran straight to the Headmaster's Office. "Harry James Potter!" Albus said to the gargoyle, which jumped aside obediently. He and Scorpius took the moving spiral staircase up to the door that marked the entrance of the Headmaster's Office.

"Maybe we shouldn't just run in?" Albus said nervously. "They might be in the middle of something."

"Who cares?" Scorpius snorted. He kicked the door open.

The Headmaster's Office was fairly full. Triton, obviously, was there, and so were Edgeworth, Albus' father, Uncle Ron, and Irving.

"Al?" Harry questioned, surprised by the two Slytherin boys' abrupt entrance.

Albus looked around the office to see that the portraits were wide awake. Dumbledore was watching Albus with a serene smile on his face, and Albus was given the impression that he was being X-rayed. Snape, too, was watching him, looking grudgingly interested.

"We figured it out!" Scorpius said excitedly, waving the folded piece of parchment. "Well, it was all Rose really! She dropped this in the library, and we found it just now! The magical creatures that we've seen aren't real—they're made by Tenebrums! That's why they're not behaving as they usually would."

Albus gulped. "And all the people that were attacked—it was because they had my scent. Somebody's employed the Tenebrums and sent them after me. That's why I was hearing the voices..."

"But _who_?" Harry asked, taking the piece of parchment from Scorpius and reading it.

Albus had no clue. Uncle Ron peered over Harry's shoulder to read the note and said, "This makes sense! I wonder why we didn't figure it out... Well, nobody—not even Hermione—has heard of Tenebrums before. Where the hell do they come from?"

"Realm!" Scorpius said. "Rose had it all figured out! The Realm! It's opening—according to the messages on the wall! And the entrance must be in the Forbidden Forest, because the Umbrelixir's trail went that way!"

"Umbrelixir?" asked Uncle Ron, confused.

Albus and Scorpius quickly explained, not caring if they had broken rules by making the potion.

"But we went to the Forbidden Forest," Edgeworth snapped. "There was nothing there!"

Albus glared at him. "That's why Scorpius and I went, too. We planned to use me as bait, but nothing really happened"—Albus wasn't about to tell them about the Sapphire Unicorn—"except a Lethifold and the Acromantulas came after us. But no Realm opened."

"What is your point?" Edgeworth asked nastily.

Albus gritted his teeth. "Have you been paying attention to the messages on the wall at all? It says that the Realm is _opening_! Maybe it's not open yet, which is why nobody saw it!"

Harry held out a hand to stop his son from talking any further. "But how can we open it, then?" he asked to the room at large.

Nobody had an answer.

At that moment, the door to the office burst open. In came most of the professors and a large amount of the Ministry workers.

"A girl named Elina Lyon has disappeared!" Neville said. "We saw the message on the wall, so we did a complete search of the school. She's gone missing without a trace!"

There was silence. Albus let out a strangled gasp.

_All of it's my fault... my fault... not _Elina_, too..._

"Take us to the message," Harry ordered. The office emptied out as all the professors, Ministry officials, Scorpius, and Albus followed Neville to the message.

It was right outside the Great Hall, and there was already a large crowd of students around it. Albus saw James and his popular Gryffindor gang there, their mouths agape. The moment that Albus arrived, James turned on him.

"You! This is your fault! Elina's gone!" James yelled, pushing Albus violently into the wall.

Albus had utterly no defense.

"James! Let go of your brother!" Harry shouted. James obeyed, but only grudgingly.

Albus, relieved, turned to the wall to read the message. His heart sunk down to his feet as he did so.

**SHE WILL BE USED TO OPEN THE REALM.**

**IT IS TIME.**

"S-She's g-got to b-be in the Forbidden Forest," Albus choked out. "Look at the message: The Realm is opening! We can get to it!"

"Yes, we can," Harry said loudly. "We're going to try to save this girl _tonight._ We're going into the Forbidden Forest." To his Aurors, he said, "You have two hours to prepare."

Edgeworth spoke as well, but instead to the members of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. "You're all going, too. We'll set off in two hours. It'll be ten o'clock P.M. by then."

"What about me?" Albus asked angrily.

Harry glared at him. To the students, he said, "Everyone should go back to their common rooms! And I mean you, too, Al!"

"No!" Albus shouted once everyone had left to get prepared. "No way! I'm not sitting around while everyone—"

"Let's just go to the dungeons," Scorpius suggested, pulling on Albus' arm.

"NO!" Albus yelled at the top of his voice. "Dad, you can't go without me! I'm the bait—I need to be bait—I _want_ to be bait if it'll save Elina—I'M COMING WITH YOU!"

Harry glared at his son determinedly. "No, you've gotten into enough trouble. You nearly died about fifty times this year! Do you honestly think I'm going to take you into danger with me?"

Albus was nearly crying with fury. Seething, he returned to the Slytherin common room with Scorpius, who looked relieved that they weren't going. Albus stormed up to his dormitory and opened his trunk.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius asked, confused.

"Preparing," Albus answered shortly. "I'm sneaking out, and you're not going to stop me."

"Why?" Scorpius groaned. "The Aurors and the Ministry will deal with it—they don't need you—"

"Yes, they do," Albus snapped.

"Why would they need a second year?" Scorpius asked skeptically.

Albus remembered what the Sapphire Unicorn had said: _'Only you can save her...'_

He muttered, "I just have a feeling, okay?"

"That's a great reason," Scorpius said sarcastically.

"Shut it," Albus snarled. He moved aside a few socks in his trunk to see the packet of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder that his father had bought at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Shrugging, Albus slipped it inside his pocket—it might come into use.

"You're serious about this?" Scorpius asked.

Albus slammed his trunk shut and stood up. "Yes."

Scorpius groaned. "You're the most annoying person ever. Well, I'm not letting you go alone."

Albus raised his eyebrow in surprise and delight. "Thanks, Scorpius."

Scorpius sighed, "I hate you."

"I know," Albus said, smirking.

They walked out of the Slytherin common room together, both shaking with fear. Albus' Invisibility Cloak was on them, since it was past curfew.

"It's almost ten o'clock," Albus whispered. "There's only half an hour to go. We'll get to the Forbidden Forest early."

The school was rather empty, since all of the Aurors and other Ministry workers were going into the Forbidden Forest. Albus and Scorpius did not even run into Peeves as they walked out into the entrance hall.

"This is the stupidest thing we've ever done," Scorpius said, determined to be as whiny as possible. "Actually... it might not be—we've done a lot of stupid things. Hm... Yeah, it's _definitely_ the stupidest."

"Scorpius, please, just shut up," Albus snapped.

Before Scorpius could reply, Albus saw a figure appear in front of them. His mouth dropped open. It was James. He was sneaking behind the suits of armor. Albus took off his cloak, ignoring Scorpius' protests, and hissed, "James!"

James whirled around in shock. His eyes widened when he saw Albus and Scorpius. "What are you two doing here?" he snarled.

"Going to save Elina," Albus said.

James gritted his teeth. "Dad gave you the Invisibility Cloak? No fair!"

Albus smirked. "He did."

James glared. "Well, whatever, I've got the Map."

"What map?" Scorpius asked.

"None of your business, Mal-fail," James sneered. To Albus, he said, "Let me under the Cloak! I'm going to save Elina, too."

"No way!" Albus snarled. "And what _map_?"

James didn't seem to hear. Before Albus or Scorpius could stop him, he had already seized the cloak and thrown it over all three of them. James was quite tall, and the cloak barely fit. (Luckily, Albus and Scorpius were extremely scrawny and short.)

"Who invited you?" grumbled Scorpius, kicking James in the shins.

James retaliated so furiously that Scorpius fell into to the nearest suit of armor.

"Stop it!" Albus hissed. "If you get us in trouble, _Gryffindork_, I'll kill you! Come on, let's go."

Silently, the three boys inched out of the castle and through the grounds. It was pouring, and lightning was flashing across the sky. Albus frantically checked his watch to see that there was only ten minutes until ten o'clock—his father and the Aurors would be coming out soon. Finally, they reached the entrance of the Forbidden Forest.

James threw the cloak off and ran toward the trees, Albus and Scorpius hobbling behind him. (He had kicked their shins the whole way.) A few moments later, they were within the trees.

"Okay, here's the plan," James said, evidently used to people following his orders. "We find this Realm-thing, you two losers distract the shadow-things, and _I'll_ save Elina."

But Albus and Scorpius weren't about to listen to James' orders. Ignoring his brother, Albus said, "We'll keep walking straight. If the Realm is opening, we should be able to see it. I'm expecting magical creatures to come attack me, so we'll have to fight our way through. Wands out."

James looked furious, but he couldn't find anything wrong with Albus' orders, so he took out his wand. Albus gripped his own blood-red wand tightly and whispered, "_Lumos." _Even more angrily, James did the same thing, evidently annoyed that Albus had thought of it first.

Before they could go more than a few paces, however, they heard rustling ahead of them. Albus raised his wand and pointed it at the shaking bush. The leaves in front of him were pushed aside, and from the foliage came two figures in blood-red cloaks. Their wands were lit.

Albus, Scorpius, and James stood there, completely shocked. One of the figures in the blood-red cloaks took off his hood, and Albus immediately felt faint.

It was Professor Hershel Heartley.

The second figure in the blood-red cloak took off his hood, too.

It was Vladimir Rylon.

"Hello, Albus Severus Potter," said both Heartley and Rylon at the same time. "We're sorry, but we can't let you win this time. Say good-bye."

"W-What are you two doing here?" Albus spluttered. "Did _you_ two order the Tenebrums to kill me?"

Heartley and Rylon exchanged amused looks and burst out into laughter. They evidently knew each other well. "No, of course not," snorted Rylon. "We're not powerful enough. But we knew that you would catch on to the whole plot soon enough, so we were _ordered_ to stop you."

"B-But—" Albus began. And then he understood. "You followed me," he said, pointing at Heartley. "Probably to make sure I didn't know too much. And Rylon's been practicing Dark Magic, and I bet he was following me, too..."

Rylon and Heartley smirked.

"B-But I thought Hoffman was the only one who wanted to destroy the world!" Albus wailed. "He's dead! What are you here for? What do you two know about all the attacks? _Who_ ordered you two to stop me?"

"That's for us to know, and for you to never find out," Rylon sneered. He twirled his wand maddeningly.

"Where's Elina?" demanded both Albus and James.

Heartley laughed mockingly. "'Where's Elina?' Oh, so _cute._ Young love. Sorry, but little Miss Princess is dying, or dead already."

"_No,"_ Albus and James whispered at the same time.

The gears in Albus' head started to turn at full speed—he had a plan. He needed to escape from Rylon and Heartley right away. He checked his watch: It was ten o'clock precisely.

_Perfect. _Albus reached into his pocket and pulled out the packet of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

"What's that?" Rylon asked, staring at the packet in confusion.

James seemed to understand what Albus was trying to do. His light brown eyes lit up with glee. "Oh, yeah," James said to Rylon. "You wouldn't know what that is, scummy Slytherin. Uncle George doesn't let slime like you shop at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

Albus ripped open the packet, and the tips of all their wands were extinguished. Heartley and Rylon screamed in fury as everything became pitch black. Albus, Scorpius, and James blindly stumbled away. A moment later, they heard voices coming from behind them. The Ministry workers had arrived at last. The three boys blundered out of the darkness and finally came out into an area where the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder wasn't in effect.

"JAMES! AL! What the _hell_?_"_ shouted Harry from the front of the group.

"R-Rylon and Heartley tried to kill us!" Albus gasped, ignoring the horrified look on his father's face. "T-They're escaping!"

"AL! I told you specifically to stay in your common room—" Harry snarled.

"Did you think I was actually going to listen?" Albus bellowed back.

Before father and son could start shouting at each other, a great rumbling noise echoed through the forest. It seemed to come from beneath them, and shocked yells broke out. The ground shook again, and Albus had the feeling that something very big was slowly walking toward them.

Then the huge trees in front of them were knocked down as if they were nothing but twigs. Out of the forest came a gigantic cat-like creature. Its fur was golden and spotted, and it looked like a leopard—except that it was about a thousand times bigger.

"A _Nundu_. The most dangerous magical creature alive," whispered Edgeworth. "Get reinforcements. Now. We need at least a hundred wizards to subdue it."

A small wizard scurried away, presumably to call more Ministry members. The Nundu stared at the group of people, and its eyes locked on Albus.

"Don't let it breathe out!" warned Edgeworth. "Its breath is toxic!" He waved his wand, and a huge cloth appeared over the Nundu's nose and mouth, magically tightened not to let any air out.

"Back away, Al," Harry ordered quietly. "It wants you."

"Then it's not going to stop until it's got me," Albus said firmly. "If it wants me—"

"AL! Get back—go back to the castle—wait there—" said Albus' father frantically.

"It won't give up until it has me, so what's the point?" Albus snapped. "I'll fight it with the rest of you."

Albus started to glow bright green. The Nundu, who was furious at the cloth covering its mouth, thrashed around. It destroyed a huge section of the Forbidden Forest and snapped tall, strong trees. Albus glowed brighter and brighter and pointed his wand at the Nundu.

"AL!" Harry yelled. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Before Albus could attack the Nundu, a voice rumbled through the forest. It was cold and emotionless, and it sent chills through Albus.

"_Sorry, the game is over. It's too late now, Ministry fools. The Shadow Realm is opening, and the Eternal Maiden is almost gone. I want the one who dared to stand up to me. Albus Severus Potter, come and face me..."_

Everyone froze. Albus stopped glowing. The dark power drained out of him, leaving him exhausted. All of them were utterly shocked. Where had the voice come from? Who had spoken?

But Albus knew. He knew that voice from his nightmares.

It was the Paradox, the embodiment of evil, the most powerful wizard—or rather, the wizard who was a step above wizardkind—to ever live.

The monster had spoken.


	19. The Scepter of Slytherin

**-Chapter Nineteen-**

**The Scepter of Slytherin**

The ground began to glow blood-red. Everyone in the vicinity gasped, ignoring the flailing and thrashing Nundu off to the side. The dark red glow bathed the whole of the Forbidden Forest in a bloody light, and everything went still.

Nobody breathed. As if he was in a trance, Albus walked forward. A bright, pulsing sphere of blood-red light was in front of him, and he was being pulled toward it.

Then all hell broke loose. The reinforcements from the Ministry arrived and started shooting Stunners at the Nundu, who let out a muffled scream of fury and started attacking anything and everything near it. In a second, the air was filled with shouts, roars, and Stunners. Albus could barely see in all the red light.

But he kept going. Something inside of him forced him to keep moving forward until he reached the large sphere of blood-red light. The sphere glowed brighter and, to Albus' great shock, a figure materialized from it.

It was a young man with dark hair. But the most terrifying part of him was his face. The right half of it was destroyed and was nothing but an ugly red scar. One of his eyes—the normal one—was reddish brown, but the other—the right one—was pure red, without the whites or the pupil. It was glowing disgustingly, and was focused on Albus.

The young man smiled twistedly and snapped his fingers. A huge blood-red wall appeared, stretching from one end of the forest to the other. It blocked the Ministry officials and the Nundu from Albus, and he knew that he was alone.

"Greetings, Albus Severus Potter," said the young man in a cold voice. "Welcome to the monster's lair."

Albus gulped, but tried to put on a brave face. "W-Where's Elina?"

The young man cracked an emotionless smile. "She is a pretty girl, is she not? I knew her parents. It is a long story..."

"I-I already know it," Albus stammered out. He wasn't doing a great job of appearing heroic. Then he remembered the name of the young man from his nightmares. It was Cryptan. "Y-You're a _monster_, Cryptan."

Cryptan narrowed his eyes. His expression was unfathomable. "How surprising. You know my name. I do not believe that I told many people my name."

"I-I've had v-visions about you. About t-the p-past," Albus said, trying, and failing, to sound defiant.

The emotionless look on Cryptan's face broke. He looked furious. "Impossible," he hissed. "You are lying. There is only one person who can do that, and that is _me_."

Albus took out his blood-red wand shakily. Cryptan fixed his mismatched gaze on Albus, causing the latter to shudder and feel sick.

Cryptan stared at Albus' wand. The furious look on his face was replaced with cold hatred. "That is my wand that you are holding, Albus Severus Potter," he said in a dangerous voice.

Albus stepped back in alarm, confused. "N-No! T-This is _my_ wand!" he insisted.

Cryptan gritted his teeth. His ruined eye glowed, and his normal eye blazed. "No. You foolish boy, that is my wand. How can it be...? Give it to me."

Cryptan snapped his fingers, and Albus' wand was yanked from his grip. Cryptan caught it, and when his fingers made contact, the symbols on the wand glowed blood-red.

"How?" breathed Cryptan, his voice deadly quiet. "How could _my_ wand betray me and choose _you_—a normal boy?"

Albus was scared to death, but he couldn't stand the sight of someone as repulsive as Cryptan holding his wand. "G-Give it b-back! It's _mine_!"

Cryptan glared at him. His blood-red eyes bored into Albus' emerald-green ones.

"You are certainly a strange boy, I see...," rasped Cryptan. "First, you are a Historia Ariolus. I believe that _I_ was supposed to be the only one. How... interesting... You are quite a _paradox_, Albus Severus Potter."

Albus did not like what Cryptan was saying at all. He took a deep, shuddering breath and said, "G-Give me m-my wand b-back and let Elina g-go! W-What are you d-doing with her?"

Cryptan's horrible scarred face was emotionless again. He snapped his fingers, and Albus stepped back in horror. A swirling vortex had appeared in the air. It was blackish-brown, and it looked diseased. As Albus watched, shadows like the ones Albus had seen in the magical creatures oozed out of it. In front of the vortex, lying unconscious on the ground, was a stunningly pretty girl that Albus knew very well.

"_ELINA_!" Albus shouted, running over to her, ignoring the whirlpool above him.

"Be careful," hissed Cryptan. "You might get sucked in, and then I would not have the pleasure of killing you..."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Albus bellowed, his stutter disappearing.

The emotionless look vanished from Cryptan's face. He grinned evilly, causing the scarred area around his mouth to distort. The effect was so terrifying that it caused Albus to feel faint. "It is a long story. But I suppose I shall tell it to you before I kill you. Listen closely, Albus Severus Potter, and die with fear in your heart.

"My mentor... He survives today at this school, one thousand years later. He has remained loyal to me, and he wishes to bring me back. It took many years of preparing. He tried once, but failed then. I believe it was you who foiled his plan.

"The Phantasm Orb was destroyed, and the part of me that resided in it was damaged. I escaped. Nothing can kill me. I am immortal, so, therefore, that part of me that was inside the Phantasm Orb is simply out in the air, waiting to be called to its counterparts...

"I am one of these parts. What you see before you is only a _part_ of the _full_ me. Of all the power you have seen today, it belongs to only one part. You have no idea of what I can do when the pieces of me are put together.

"As I was saying previously, my mentor, the man who told me that I had a purpose, wanted to put me together. He found the Scepter of Shadows, an object that I created. This Scepter has the ability to control Tenebrums, and it houses the Shadow Realm.

"But the problem was: I needed a _vessel_. A part of me needed to slumber inside of someone while the Realm opened. This would require me using the power of my vessel and transferring it to the Realm, allowing it to open. So, my mentor found a girl. A girl in the school. This girl—who was surprisingly the Eternal Maiden as well—had the Imperius Curse casted on her, and she released the Tenebrums from the Scepter."

"_N-No_...," Albus whispered, unable to believe his ears.

"She had no idea what she was doing. I stayed inside her while the Tenebrums roamed around, turning into magical creatures. My mentor had decided to kill two birds with one stone and wanted to use the Scepter of Shadows to release a part of me and kill you. So, he set the Tenebrums on you and made you Prey.

"This whole year, I have been sucking out the Eternal Maiden's life in order to manifest a body for myself. I have finally managed it, and the Shadow Realm is opening at last. The Eternal Maiden, a girl with the invisible powers of pure light and love, is quickly dying...

Albus looked at the vortex above him to see that it had grown larger. He was actually being pulled toward it slightly, but the tug was so small that he had barely noticed it.

"And do you know what will happen when it opens completely?" asked Cryptan, a cruelly gleeful smile splitting his previously blank face. "Guess, Albus Severus Potter."

Albus didn't care what would happen when it fully opened, because he had already decided that he was going to stop it. He was not going to let Elina die. His voice shaking with fury, he said, "I-I bet it's something d-dramatic like the w-whole world being consumed in shadows and d-darkness?"

"Good job," breathed Cryptan. "I will especially enjoy killing you. But of course, I would enjoy killing anything and anyone. It is because of the dark power within me. It is because I am a monster."

Albus froze in shock. _Isn't that the same dark power I feel inside _me_?_

"W-Why are you d-doing this?" he finally gasped out. "W-Why do y-you want to destroy the world? W-What has it d-done to you?"

Cryptan's ruined eye pulsed grossly, and his normal eye blazed in fury. "Do not ask me such idiotic questions. The world has been nothing but cruel to me. I was shunned for being different, for being a freak. I could not be trusted. My father found out that I was not human and locked me up.

"I was a monster. At first, I decided that I was not fit to live. I thought that I had no purpose. But I found it. My purpose is to destroy the world, and rule the new one. I realized that this world is corrupted, and I have made it my mission to cleanse it."

Albus threw caution to the winds and desperately said, "Y-You don't have to do this, Cryptan. T-They call _me_ a monster and a freak, too. P-Please, Cryptan, d-don't—_don't prove them right."_

Albus wasn't sure where his emotion-filled lecture had come from. Cryptan paused, considering, and then he laughed. It was high and cold and inhumane, and Albus knew that Cryptan hadn't listened to him. There was no way to reason with a madman who had been driven into insanity by all the hatred from the world that he had suffered from.

"Do not bother trying to convince me. What I am doing is right. And I do not mind being a monster. I am the most powerful wizard in the world. That is a blessing, not a curse. My destiny is to rule the new world, and you will not be a part of it, Albus Severus Potter."

Albus stood in silence, watching Cryptan. He looked crazed, and his insane smile mixed with the disgusting scar and the pulsing, pure red eye unnerved Albus more than anything else, even the swirling vortex above him.

Albus knew what he had to do. Time was running out. Soon, Elina would die, and the Shadow Realm would consume the world. And _he_ was the only one who could stop it.

"G-Give me m-my wand so I can f-fight you," Albus ordered shakily, glaring at Cryptan.

Cryptan gaped, shocked. Then he burst into insane laughter. "_You?_ You, an insignificant twelve-year-old boy with crooked glasses, fight _me?_ Do you even know who I am? I have watched the wars of humankind ever since I was broken apart and trapped. I have seen Grindelwald, Voldemort, and the rest of them try, and fail, to take over the world. I have learned from their mistakes. I am ten times more powerful than all of the world's greatest Dark Wizards put together, and I have practiced with my powers for a thousand years. Do you think that _you_ can fight me and _win_?_"_

Albus was shaking with fear. "I-I won't let you h-hurt Elina, and I won't let you destroy the world!" he finally choked out.

Cryptan's face flickered with amusement. "The knight in shining armor is going to save the pretty damsel in distress and the whole world in the process. I find this... _funny_."

Albus felt a twinge of pure hatred run through him, and the familiar dark sensation burst alive inside of him, more powerful than ever before. He snapped his fingers, and his wand was jerked out of Cryptan's grip. Albus caught it, and the symbols on his wand glowed bright green.

Cryptan stared. "No...," he growled. "_What _are you...?"

Albus' eyes flashed.

Cryptan had the blank look back on his face. "You are a strange boy. You remind me of myself. Interesting. But this is not important, for I will kill you right now." Cryptan waved his hand, and a terrible, shining black rod appeared in his grip. Albus knew right away that it was the Scepter of Shadows.

Albus gulped and raised his wand, though he knew it was hopeless before the duel had even begun. Cryptan let out a yell, and everything as far as the eye could see turned blood-red. Albus was blasted backwards with such force that he was sure that every bone in his body had broken.

But, miraculously, the dark sensation within him gave him strength, and he stumbled back up, panting.

"Impossible," hissed Cryptan. His terrible, scarred face was no longer blank. It was now contorted with fury. "That should have killed you. No _human_ can survive my wrath."

"Well,_ I_ can," Albus said coldly, the dark power inside him giving him strength. He wasn't stuttering. He began to glow bright green, and the blood-red light was pushed back as it was overtaken by his emerald green glow.

Cryptan looked murderous. "No... I am the only one who has this power! I am the _only _one! Who are you? _What_ are you? No... How could it be? How could _you_ be...?"

Albus pointed his wand at Cryptan and felt the dark power growing within him. The bright green lightning shot out of the tip of his wand and zoomed toward Cryptan, who blocked it with a blood-red shield.

Albus paused, a bit dizzy from using his powers. His strange bright green lightning usually shattered any shield that it touched, but Cryptan's seemed resistant to it.

"Never mind, never mind," said Cryptan, not tired at all. He smiled sinisterly. "We_ both_ can play this game."

Cryptan waved his hand, and a shock wave emanated from him, strong enough to uproot the gigantic trees and send them rolling like mere tumbleweeds. Albus was blasted backwards again, and this time he did not get up. The darkness within him was trying to fight the opposing darkness, but it was useless...

_He's too strong, _Albus thought. He struggled to get up, but his feet would not support him. Albus' eyes wandered to where Elina was lying. She had been protected from the blast by a spherical blood-red shield; Cryptan did not want to her to get hurt, because he wanted to use her life to open the Shadow Realm.

Albus finally managed to get to his feet, and Cryptan growled, "You see, you are nothing compared to me. I will kill you, and then the girl."

Albus gritted his teeth. He _hated _Cryptan more than anyone else in the world. More than James, Derlwin, Rylon, Triton, Edgeworth, and all the bullies and idiots in the world put together. Albus wanted nothing more than to see Cryptan dead.

The dark sensation returned in full force. "NO!" Albus shouted at the top of his voice. A blast nearly as strong as Cryptan's radiated from Albus, destroying the forest even more. Cryptan easily put up a shield with a quick wave of his hand, but he looked shaken.

"You have the same powers,_"_ hissed Cryptan in a dangerous voice. "No matter. I almost expected it. Now, let us see how you react to _this_..._"_

Cryptan stretched out his arms and yelled out to the sky. The very air ripped apart. The blood-red wall that separated Albus from the Ministry workers and the rest of Hogwarts shook, though it managed not to shatter. Everything on Cryptan and Albus' side of the forest was torn apart, and Albus glowed bright green and barely managed to put up a bright green shield, though he had no idea what kind of shield it was (because it certainly wasn't a normal one) and how he had done it.

Since there were no longer any trees to protect Albus from the rain, he was soaked through in mere seconds. Lightning flashed across the sky, relentless and cruel. Deafening thunder tore at Albus' ears, and he felt so tired and cold that he fell to the ground, gasping.

_I'm going to die. All this was for nothing... _Albus' fighting spirit left him, and he just wanted to sleep. Before Albus could close his eyes for the last time, he saw a blazing blue blur moving towards him. The blue blur materialized into a very familiar figure, and Albus' mouth fell open.

It was the Sapphire Unicorn. But that wasn't all—she was holding the Sorting Hat in her mouth. Albus struggled to his feet, completely confused.

"What is that?" demanded Cryptan. He fixed his calculating, terrifying glare on the Unicorn.

"_Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," _whispered the Sapphire Unicorn. She swung her head, and the hat arced into the air and into Albus' arms. He stared at it, unsure of what to do. How would a dirty old hat help him—and where had she gotten it, anyways? Giving him a small nod, the Sapphire Unicorn darted away, once more becoming a blur of the brightest blue.

Cryptan turned back to Albus. "What is that? A hat? How useless... You are not dead yet, I see. But I am tired of playing with you. It's almost time for the Realm to open..._yes_..."

This time, Cryptan raised the Scepter of Shadows into the air. It pulsed darkly, sucking in the air around it. Uncountable shadows oozed out from the top of the Scepter. They swirled above Cryptan like some bizarre cloud, and then began to assume shapes.

Albus watched, entranced, as the shadows moved together and combined to form hundreds of magical creatures: Chizpurfles, Tebos, Pogrebins, Erumpents, Acromantulas, Doxies, Occamies, Erklings, Runespoors, Quintapeds, and Chimaeras. All the newly-made magical monsters dropped to the ground with a look of cruel hunger in their beady eyes.

"Good-bye, Albus Severus Potter," growled the Paradox. "The Eternal Maiden only has seconds to live, and you have even less..."

Albus stared at the group of monsters as the charged toward him, all roaring, cackling, screeching, and hissing.

"_Prey."_

Albus stumbled backwards, knowing that he was done for. Then he noticed the limp and sorry-looking Sorting Hat in his hand. _Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it... _Before he knew what he was doing, Albus had jammed the hat onto his head.

_Help me—help me—_Albus thought, his eyes screwed tight under the hat. _Please help me—_

There was no answering voice. Instead, the hat contracted, and something hard and heavy thudded onto the top of Albus' head, nearly knocking him out. Momentarily dazed, Albus seized the top of the hat to yank it off and felt something long and thin beneath it.

A shining silver rod had appeared inside the hat. It was decorated with emeralds in the shape of serpents that glittered, sparkled, and seemed to be alive. As Albus watched, it glowed a dark, poisonous green. To his surprise, there were silvery words on the side of the rod:

**SALAZAR SLYTHERIN**

Albus had pulled out a scepter—the Scepter of Slytherin. He raised it high above his head, just like Cryptan had raised the Scepter of Shadows. The power within Albus blazed alive, and he felt invincible again.

"What...?" Cryptan whispered. "What is _that_?_"_

"_It's the power of Slytherin_," Albus declared. He knew what he had to do. The dark energy inside him was begging to be let out, and he needed to channel it through the Scepter of Slytherin.

Ignoring the magical creatures stampeding toward him, Albus closed his eyes. He felt a tugging sensation inside of him, and bright green lightning burst from the top of the Scepter, ten times more powerful than if it had come from his wand.

Cryptan stared, wide-eyed. _"Fool!"_ he screamed, the emotionless look on his face disappearing to be replaced with a look of the utmost fury and hatred. From the tip of his own Scepter came blood-red lightning, far more powerful than Albus'.

It was the Scepter of Slytherin against the Scepter of Shadows, the emerald green against the blood-red, the little boy against the all-powerful Paradox. The two differently colored magical lightning met in midair, shaking the forest to its roots.

Albus knew it was hopeless.

Cryptan was just too powerful.

The moment the two kinds of magical lightning made contact, the bright green doubled back, overpowered by the blood-red—

Albus Severus Potter thudded to the ground, finally defeated.

"And now," Cryptan said, not tired in the slightest. "The time has come for the Shadow Realm to open at last."

Albus was crouching on the ground, barely managing to support himself. He looked up to see that the vortex—the entrance to the Shadow Realm—was expanding at an alarming rate. Elina was barely breathing, and her face was completely colorless.

Cryptan had his back to Albus, and he was facing the whirling vortex. Albus knew that it was dishonorable to attack someone while their back was turned, but he didn't care. Slytherins didn't pay attention to stupid morals like that. They would do whatever it took to win, and Albus was about to do the same thing.

_You underestimated me, Cryptan, _he thought, smirking slightly.

He raised the Scepter of Slytherin and pointed it, not at Cryptan, but at the Scepter of Shadows. A final jet of bright green lightning shot toward the dark Scepter and hit it in the very middle. All the magical creatures disappeared as if they had never been, and the vortex flickered and vanished. Color returned to Elina's face, though she did not wake up.

For a second, Cryptan paused, utterly shocked and confused.

Then there was a shrill, ghastly, ear-splitting scream, one that echoed on even after it had died down. The Scepter of Shadows shattered into uncountable pieces, never to haunt the world with its evil shadows ever again. Cryptan, the Paradox, the most powerful wizard in history, a monster himself, writhed and flailed, twisted and thrashed.

"NO! _This is not over yet! This was only _one_ small part of the _full_ me! You know _nothing_ of my powers! I will come back to destroy you and the rest of the world, Albus Severus Potter!" _

Then Cryptan was gone.

The blood-red wall that separated Albus from his father and the other Ministry workers flickered and disappeared at the same time that Cryptan did, and Albus knew from the utter silence that the Nundu was gone as well. The blood-red shield surrounding Elina also vanished, though she remained unmoving. It stopped raining immediately. (Presumably, the presence of the Scepter of Shadows had interfered with the weather the whole year, which was why the sky hadn't ever been clear.)

And then, the clouds moved aside to show a brilliant full moon that shone on a shaking, shivering, and gasping twelve-year-old boy with crooked glasses, untidy jet black hair, and bright emerald green eyes.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that was the climax. One more chapter to go now. What did you think of the Scepter of Slytherin? I think it's likely that Gryffindor wasn't the _only_ one who put a weapon inside the Sorting Hat. The other Founders were probably smart enough to do so, too. And Slytherin is totally the best. Just sayin'. ;)**

**Anyways, what did you think? Elina was being used as a vessel, and she was being controlled by the Imperius Curse. And who exactly is this 'mentor' that Cryptan speaks so highly of? And what do you think of Cryptan? Did you like this "fight scene"? Albus' powers? (They get cooler later. I promise.) Please review!**


	20. Shining Light

**-Chapter Twenty-**

**Shining Light**

Albus slowly crawled to where Elina was lying, but he knew that it was hopeless. She, Rose, Dinky, and the rest of the students who had been attacked were still in the irreversible coma. He finally reached her and kneeled over her, trying to stop the tears from coming.

"Elina... _please_... please wake up," Albus begged.

She stayed still and silent. Desperate, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the locket she had given him—the locket that apparently belonged to Myrinda. He struggled with it, knowing that it wouldn't open.

But, to his complete surprise, it clicked and fell open. Inside it was a tiny blue bottle and a slip of paper. Albus picked up the bottle and held it delicately between his thumb and fore-finger. There were a few drops of some sapphire blue liquid inside, and they swished around as Albus shook it.

Not daring to believe it, he unscrewed the top and brought the small bottle to Elina's lips. A single drop fell on them, but it was enough. Albus quickly put the cap back on as Elina drew a shuddering breath. She opened her eyes blearily as if she was just walking up in the morning.

"Al?" Elina asked, dazed.

Albus smiled. He had found the cure—it had been in Elina's locket all along!

"Oh, _Al_!" Elina gasped, finally realizing where she was. "I didn't know—I was a vessel—I j-just remember the embodiment of evil coming out—I was so tired and ill—_Al_—you saved me!" Tears were streaming down her face, and she seemed incapable of forming a full sentence.

"It's fine," Albus said quietly. He held up the Scepter of Slytherin. "Cryptan's gone."

_For now._

"H-How d-did you cure m-me?" Elina mumbled, tears shining on her cheeks.

"There was a bottle in your locket," Albus explained, holding it up. "There was a note, too." He picked the locket up and pulled the note out. It was curled up inside the locket. "I didn't read it yet."

Elina silently took the note, looking confused. _"M-Mummy?"_ she whispered, unfolding it. She read it, and her stunning blue-violet eyes widened.

Before Albus could react, she had thrown her arms around his neck and started to sob again. "It's f-from M-Mummy! R-Read it..."

_My Dear Shining Light,_

_I love you, my dear daughter, but you are in danger here, and I know that if you remain, you will be killed. Please forgive me for sending you away._

_I am keeping this rare antidote, Immortalis Amor—otherwise known as Immortal Love—in this locket. It can cure any disease, and it shines with the power of love. This locket will not open until you are in a life-threatening situation, and only someone who unfalteringly loves you can open it. _

_I will always love you, my dear daughter. I know that I will be dead by the time you read this, but I hope that you will not forget me. Good-bye, Shining Light._

_Love,_

_ Mother _

"M-My n-name m-means 'Shining Light'!" Elina wept as Albus awkwardly helped her to her feet.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, and Elina leaned toward him. Albus found his hands cradling her face, and their lips were only a millimeter apart...

"AL!" shouted someone from the other side of the forest. Albus and Elina stepped away from each other, both very pink in the face.

Albus looked up to see that his father and around a hundred wizards from the Ministry were hurrying towards them. Nearly all of the trees in the Forbidden Forest had been uprooted during either Albus' and Cryptan's battle or the Nundu's rampage, and the Forbidden Forest wasn't really a forest anymore. To Albus' great annoyance, James was there, too. He came running towards them at full speed and swept Elina off her feet, rudely pushing Albus away.

"AL! W-What—what happened?" Harry spluttered, clutching a stitch at his side. Albus spotted Uncle Ron and Scorpius hobbling behind him. Scorpius had a shallow cut on the side of his face, but was otherwise unharmed.

"The Nundu just disappeared!" Scorpius said, confused. "And so did that strange dark red wall!"

Some Auror spoke. "We also ran into two wizards with blood-red cloaks, like your son said. One of them was killed in the Nundu's rampage—we couldn't help him." The Auror stepped aside to reveal a sobbing Rylon, who was handcuffed. Albus couldn't see Heartley's dead body.

Harry gave Rylon a long look. "Oh, well, take him up to the school. He's a student, isn't he?" To Rylon, he said, "You didn't even get to take your NEWTs. What will your parents say?"

Rylon gritted his teeth.

Edgeworth decided to take control. "Pirnicle, Dawlish, Emry, stay to clean up the forest—or what's left of it," he ordered his wizards. "The rest of us need to go back to the school."

Albus suddenly remembered the blue bottle in Elina's locket. "We found the cure to the magical coma!"

Uncle Ron's mouth dropped open. "Then—then we've got to take it to Rose and the rest of them right away!"

Harry nodded. Under the light of the full moon, the huge group of Ministry workers marched toward the steps of the castle, and Albus checked his watch to see that it was midnight. Even so, lights inside the castle were turning on. Evidently, the news that the magical creatures were gone and a cure for the coma was found had reached the students before the Ministry workers could even step inside the castle. James and Elina ran ahead, holding hands. Albus trudged behind them, beside his father.

"What happened?" Harry asked again, composing himself.

"The f-forest was _sort of_ d-destroyed," Albus mumbled, stuttering horribly. He hid the Scepter of Slytherin behind his back, though he knew that his father could see it.

Harry smiled. "'Sort of' is one way to put it. Hagrid was fond of the place—he'll be distraught."

Albus wasn't sure what was so funny, but he was suddenly snickering. Scorpius joined them and started describing how he had confused the Nundu, and how several Ministry workers had complimented him on his method. "But James was helpful, too," Scorpius grumbled. "All the Ministry workers were doting on how 'brave' he was, charging at the Nundu. I stayed at the back and bothered it from there."

"Right...," Albus muttered, rolling his eyes, "...because what he did was brave and not stupid at all."

_I've got no right to talk, _he thought a second later.

Once they were inside the castle, Albus, Scorpius, James, and Elina were taken to the Headmaster's Office. Unsurprisingly, all the professors were already there. Edgeworth and Albus' father came inside, too, but Uncle Ron went straight to the Hospital Wing with the cure in his hands.

"W-What happened?" Triton demanded once they arrived.

Albus gulped. He didn't want to tell the Ministry how powerful he was—wasn't the Ministry looking for an extremely powerful Dark Wizard? Albus knew that he would be under suspicion if he told the full story.

So he lied. He left out everything that mentioned his freakish super powers, and hoped that the holes in his story weren't too suspicious.

"So," said his father, "this was only a part of the embodiment of evil?"

Albus gulped. "Y-Yes, b-but it's gone. Rylon's in prison, and Heartley and Hoffman are b-both dead. They w-were the only ones w-who admitted t-to being involved in that. _I-It's over_," he mumbled.

"What I don't understand," piped up Neville, "is why we didn't know about the embodiment of evil before. I mean, if it's true that he lived a thousand years ago, and he was really that powerful, why isn't he marked down in history?"

Albus remembered that it had been discussed in his dreams that the history that mentioned the Paradox had been erased, so that the wizarding world of a millennium later would be unprepared. But he doubted that anyone would take his visions seriously. He shrugged in answer to Neville's question.

"And what about Elina?" James asked. His arm was around her, and she was crying again.

"It wasn't her fault," Albus said firmly. "Anyone will vouch for her. She wouldn't do something like that. She was being controlled by the Imperius Curse. You can probably use Veritaserum to check. She's innocent."

Then Albus realized something. Someone—Cryptan's mentor—was nearby, at the school! And he was the one who found the Scepter of Shadows. And he probably planned the whole thing with the Phantasm Orb, too. Albus' head spun with his new discoveries. Heartley and Rylon had admitted that they hadn't set the Tenebrums on Albus, and Hoffman was dead. Who _else_ was there, then?

"Can I see the Scepter? I didn't know that Slytherin had _another_ artifact," Harry asked, jerking Albus out of his thoughts.

Albus handed it over mutely.

Dumbledore's portrait spoke, and his eyes twinkled. "Well, Harry, I'm sure that Godric Gryffindor wasn't the _only_ Founder who put a weapon inside the Sorting Hat..."

Albus and Scorpius, the only two Slytherins in the room, grinned.

"So," said Harry, "you're a true Slytherin, then. How did you get the Sorting Hat, though?"

Albus explained about the Sapphire Unicorn, and Elina let out a gasp. "I know her! We're very good friends. I met her when I was four, and I go to see her whenever I can." That was the final confirmation that Elina was indeed the Eternal Maiden.

"But where did the Sapphire Unicorn get it?" asked Harry.

"I-I don't know," Albus admitted, his voice trembling. "W-Who could have g-given it t-to her?"

Triton cleared his throat and said, "Yes, well, perhaps James and Elina should get to the Hospital Wing. And you should go as well, Mr. Malfoy. The victims should be waking up now. Mr. Potter, you stay here."

Confused, Albus watched James, Elina, and Scorpius leave for the Hospital Wing. He was very tired, and the fight with Cryptan had left him weak-kneed and shaking.

Albus remembered something else. There were three wizards now who know about Cryptan, three wizards who had tried to kill Albus. Heartley, Rylon, and Hoffman. Another wizard, Cryptan's mentor, was surely at the school right now... were there even _more_?

Triton said to all the professors, "Go wake up the students. A Feast is in order. And Mr. Potter, two hundred points to Slytherin. And fifty points to Gryffindor for your brother and fifty more points to Slytherin for Mr. Malfoy."

Harry said, "You can head down to the Hospital Wing, Al."

"Wait a moment!" Edgeworth said loudly. "We can't go telling the whole wizarding world about this! A new enemy, the embodiment of evil. It would cause a panic. And there's no point, since the embodiment of evil's dead and gone, so there's no need to worry."

_Is there? _thought Albus.

Edgeworth continued, but this time, he spoke to Albus, "You'll get an Award for Special Services to the school, and Slytherin will get the House Cup. Just let the Ministry of Magic deal with the _big_ things, all right?"

Albus gritted his teeth. He was going to return to being the Loser of Hogwarts—again, and he wasn't going to be credited for saving the world—again. James certainly wouldn't tell, since he was afraid of Albus being seen as the braver and more heroic brother, and Scorpius and Elina would be sworn to secrecy.

Albus plastered a bitter smile on his face. "All right. I-I don't care. Should I go to the Hospital Wing now?" Nobody stopped him, so he walked out of the office.

But he wasn't going to the Hospital Wing. He went through the dungeons and into the Slytherin common room. Then he went into his dormitory and reached under his bed. There was a stack of scrolls—scrolls on Dark Magic—under there, and Albus knew what he had to do with it. Checking to see that Oswald was still sleeping, Albus grabbed the stack of Dark Magic scrolls and went into the Slytherin common room again.

He stopped in front of the greenish fire and stared at it, struggling with himself. Then he chucked the whole stack of Dark Magic scrolls into the fire. They curled and shriveled up, never to be read again.

Albus had made his choice.

He walked out of the Slytherin common room and made his way to the Feast, and it was a feast like no other. Everybody was in their pajamas, and the celebration lasted all night. A few minutes after it had started, Rose came running toward him and Scorpius, shouting, "You solved it! You solved it!" The House Cup was secured for Slytherin for the second year running, and Albus was crowned the King of Slytherin again, this time permanently.

"Where's Rylon?" Hemley, the Quidditch captain, asked curiously.

Albus smirked. "Oh, he's—er—on a vacation. On an island. In a fortress."

The Feast continued, and Edgeworth stood up halfway through it to congratulate himself and the Aurors for defeating a terrible enemy, which caused Albus to scowl. But he became happier when Triton announced that, unfortunately, Heartley would not able to return as the Potions professor next year, owing to the fact that he was squashed. Neville also told them that exams were canceled as a school treat, and that the students would have a free period instead of Potions class.

"I guess I won't be able to beat you in the exams again," Scorpius said to Rose, who was rolling her eyes and mouthing, '_Immature.'_

* * *

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. It wasn't raining anymore, and Hogwarts was back to normal. Albus was once again the school loser—which James was happy to encourage—but at least he wasn't being called a freak anymore.

But the school had another surprise for the second-year students. Since the whole school year had been overcome with fear, nobody had been able to choose their electives for the next year. Once everything was cleared up, however, Albus, Rose, and Scorpius were given scrolls of parchment filled with possible choices for third year.

"Divination and Care of Magical Creatures, definitely," said Scorpius, shrugging. "Divination is easy, and I'm choosing Care of Magical Creatures because it'll make Father angry."

Albus laughed. "Well, I'll take the same things as you. I don't really care—I just hope there's a good Potions professor next year. It'll be hard to get one, though. Both of them for the last two years died. I bet everyone's thinking that it's _jinxed_..."

Rose bit her lip as she looked at the scroll that listed possible classes. "I'm taking three subjects—that's as much as I can fit. Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures."

Scorpius snickered as rudely as possible at her choices. "I'm glad that I don't have that many classes with you, then."

Rose seethed with fury and smacked him with her History of Magic textbook.

* * *

A man with a terrifying, bluish face and lifeless black eyes spoke to a group of red-cloaked wizards. Behind him was a pulsing red wall—perhaps another Realm. His tone was calm, but there was a definite coldness in his voice.

"The war has shifted by a thousand years. Cryptan is slumbering. He is trapped in the Realms of Darkness, and he will stay there, learning in secret. When the pieces of him are put back together, he will come back, stronger than ever before.

"We will erase any mention of him in history. The world of a thousand years later will be unprepared for power of his scale, and they will quail at the sight of him.

"We will have our justice, and those who have wronged us will be eliminated.

"_The storm has begun."_

* * *

The morning before the Hogwarts Express left for Kings' Cross, Albus was cornered by Dinky the house-elf.

"Albus Potter must believe Dinky now!" she shrieked. "Dinky is Cryptan's house-elf, but Dinky does not listen to him! But Dinky will listen to Albus Potter, because Dinky wants to help him!"

"Why do you want to help me, anyways?" Albus asked.

"Because it is Dinky's mission to protect Albus Potter!" she said cockily.

"Why me? Why I am so special that you need to protect me?" Albus demanded.

Dinky glared at Albus determinedly. "Albus Potter is very special. Dinky must go now! She will see Albus Potter again to help him!"

And with a loud _crack_, Dinky the house-elf was gone.

Albus walked down to the Hogsmeade Station with Rose and Scorpius. He saw Elina getting on the train and caught up with her. "W-Why are you here?" he asked. "You live at Hogwarts, don't you?"

Elina smiled. "Yes, but I don't want everyone to know that, silly. That's why I get on the train to King's Cross, but I ride it back."

"Clever," Albus said, blushing and looking at the ground.

He, Rose, Scorpius, Elina, and even Oswald got a compartment to themselves and played chess and practiced spells throughout the whole journey. James decided to come and drag Elina away halfway through, and several thugs came to bully Albus, Scorpius, and Oswald. (Though Rose managed to chase them away before the three Slytherin boys had permanent bruises.)

Finally, the Hogwarts Express shuddered to a stop outside platform nine-and-three-quarters. Albus looked out the window to see his mother, father, and little sister waiting for him on the platform.

Together, Albus, Rose, and Scorpius walked off the train, wondering what awaited them in the years to come. Albus desperately hoped that there weren't going to be anymore perilous adventures in store, but he had a feeling that his journey had only just begun.

**THE END**

_But not really..._

* * *

**Author's Note: And that's the last chapter! More information on the next book will be coming in an author's note in a few days! Hope you enjoyed! Tell me what you thought in a review! :)**


	21. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Hello! It's been a day since I posted the last chapter of Scepter of Shadows. I hope you enjoyed it and will continue reading book three and onwards! Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed—those reviews brought a smile to my face! And if you didn't review, thanks for reading! And please review, too! Hopefully, those of you who didn't review will do so now that the story is finished. ;)

You're probably all wondering when book three is going to be posted. As for that, I'm estimating mid-August. I've already completely written it, but... er... I'm not happy with it, and re-reading it makes me want to bash my head against the keyboard. Then again, re-reading _any_ of my work makes me do that...

Also, I'm going to summer camp in mid-July, and I won't be coming back until early August. After that, it'll take me a week to edit and rewrite some scenes. So the next book will be out about **mid-August.** Sorry the wait is so long! It's all the summer camp's fault!

So, while the next month and a half or so go by, I'd like your feedback. Please review and answer these couple questions! It'll really, _really_ help me!

**Do you want to see more romance?**

This is a big one. Nearly a fourth of book three is romance. I don't know whether I overdid it. Basically, the romance twists through the main action plot. I wanted to show more school-life drama, and that's basically all romance. I don't want to make it _too_ unrealistic, but keep in mind that this is fiction/fantasy. It's going to be cheesier and more unrealistic than in real life. I warn you.

**What did you think of the main villain?**

I'm a bit nervous about this question. I tried everything I could to make Cryptan worse than Voldemort, and I don't think I proved that. My excuse is that this is only _one_ part of Cryptan. When we see him later—and yes, we _will_—he'll be scary. Worse than Voldemort? Cryptan's _supposed_ to be, but Voldemort is just way too cool to be topped. I don't know what I was thinking to try and top him, because there's no way anything I come up with can.

But I think Cryptan comes close to doing it, anyways. We learn even more about him later. I promise he gets scary. Really scary. And his powers get scary, too. And now I'm saying too much, so I need to shut up.

**Are you confused about the plot or do you not understand something? If so, please ask questions!**

I don't know whether I explained everything well enough or not. Well, I probably didn't, but nobody's pointed it out. If you're confused about something that doesn't make sense, please tell me. There are a lot of discoveries that get buried, but they come back up to hit you later. If Albus realized something important and doesn't think of it again, it doesn't mean that he's forgotten it. Everything should tie back together eventually—and a big part of it will in the next book.

* * *

**Information on Book Three**

Since there's going to be such a long break until book three, I'll tell you a few things about it.

-Book two was an "action" book. Book three is an "information" book. This means that book three has less fight scenes and more important plot points. Book three just pretty much introduces the big plot. It's a 'stepping stone' for the rest of the series. It's really important.

-We meet the real villains. So far, we've seen Hoffman, Heartley, and Rylon. Those were pawns, and they are now irrelevant. We actually meet some REAL villains, villains that are Cryptan's right-hand men/women that are important through the whole series. They are the mirror versions of the Death Eaters. But, of course, my villains aren't copies of Bellatrix, Lucius Malfoy, etc. They're very different in personalities.

-We learn the identity of the red-cloaked man in the first chapters of book one and two. He's the same person as Cryptan's mentor, and the person who set the Tenebrums of the Scepter of Shadows on Albus. And we've already met him. Any guesses? It should be _somewhat_ obvious by now. I've already scattered clues across books one and two.

-The Marauder's Map returns, as do the Whomping Willow and other secret passages to Hogsmeade.

-We see a new "stage" of Albus' powers. They get cooler, but they aren't at their peak yet, not even in book three. And we also see a few more of Albus' flaws. In book three, you might see a darker side of him. We also learn his Boggart (His greatest fear) and his "inner animal." (Ex. Harry was a stag—but Albus is _not_. Any guesses for what he'll be?)

Finally, the next adventure of the Emerald Trio will be titled **Albus Potter and the Assassin's Quest**!

Because I'm nice, I'll also give you the planned summary: (May change.)

In his third year, Albus Severus Potter learns that a ruthless army of wizards have been plotting to destroy the world ever since the beginning of time. They tried to kill him, but now they want him on their side. On the dangerous boundary between good and evil, Albus realizes that he may be nothing but a pawn in a complicated game—a game where the pawn must be sacrificed.

I won't be updating here again, so I suggest keeping me on Author Alert (If you have an account.) so you can know when the next story is out. So, see you next time!

~Crystalline Iridescentia

**P.S.** Random fun fact time! Did you know that Albus, Rose, and Scorpius were originally all supposed to be in _Gryffindor _and were dubbed the second Golden Trio? (_That_ was the best name I could come up with for a Gryffindor trio. I fail. Hey, at least I did better with the Emerald Trio! I don't think I've seen that name before. :P)

I changed it up because they were all clones of the first Golden Trio, and the plot bored me with Albus as a Gryffindor. I wanted to make him hated and rejected and feel alone, (I enjoy torturing him, as I'm sure you all suspect by now.) and I wanted brother rivalry instead of having some random stereotypical Slytherin rival. I already knew my plot was similar to Harry Potter, but I didn't want the characters and school experiences to be the same, too. Therefore, I decided to majorly switch things around, and I like it much better with Albus in Slytherin.

And now, bye! Remember to review and answer the questions in the first part of the author's note! ;)


	22. Author's Note 2

**Author's Note Two**

Don't get excited yet. Book 3 isn't due for several weeks. I just came back from academic sleepaway camp, (today, actually) and over camp I decided to completely redo book 3. Sadly, I didn't get any writing done during camp, so I'm behind. (No big deal. I wrote 30 pages ever since my arrival, so I'm pretty sure I'll catch up soon enough.)

But I wanted to let you all know that there will be a SLIGHT delay in book 3. I'm half-done with chapter 10 in book 4. Book 3 was supposed to be done and self-edited, but I wanted to give it a _serious_ plot makeover. By makeover, I mean _plastic surgery_. I'm trying to stop myself from destroying my forehead by banging my head on the keyboard every time I read the piece of trash that's book 3. So hypothetically, of course, I'm turning book 3 on its head and shaking out the loose pages and gluing in fresh ones. I'm tearing it into pieces and putting them back together differently, I'm taking a pen and crossing everything out, I'm stomping on the pages (hypothetical pages, since most of them are on the computer) and throwing them into the fireplace—you get the point.

I thought that I had edited book 3, but I had never really liked the plot. Much will be different then the first version, and hopefully better. You might be worried about the delay, but don't be. Book 3 was due around August 15, and it probably will be, but I wanted to tell you not to freak out if it doesn't come. It may come in late August or early September instead.

I don't want to feel rushed. I'm getting a little worried. I've always wanted to be at least one book ahead of you guys, but book 4 is almost twice the length of the first three books! The plan stretches on and on, and it's very complicated. There's no way I'm going to let anyone see it before I've had the whole book in front of me to check for inconsistencies, but, at the same time, I don't want to keep you guys waiting.

Anyways, I feel bad for keeping you guys waiting for three weeks plus even more, so I'm going to give you a very short excerpt from book 3.

* * *

It was a perfectly ordinary day in the village of Godric's Hollow. The sun shone brightly, and the wizard and muggle children played together, the latter unaware of their playmates' magic. Young couples walked around the park in which teenagers were kicking a soccer ball around, and everyone seemed to be happy—which was usual in Godric's Hollow.

A woman in a stifling cloak made her way across the park, waving at a few children on the way. She had a smile on her face, but it was only there to hide the anxiety behind it. The woman was wearing the typical lime-green Healer uniform, and she was at the village of Godric's Hollow on Healer business.

But she wasn't really a Healer. It had been difficult trying to get the job of seeing the middle child of Harry Potter, and all the Healers had been fighting over it. So, the woman had Confunded them all and taken the job instead.

It wasn't because she was selfish and wanted to meet the famous Potters. It was because she wanted to meet one Potter in particular: Albus Severus Potter. The three-year-old boy was an enigma, a real mystery.

And the woman knew that there was only one explanation for this: Albus Severus Potter was the _new_ Paradox—named the Final Paradox... the only one who could compare to the First Paradox.

She finally reached a fairly large but friendly-looking house on the outskirts of the town. Slightly nervous, she knocked on the door. It opened immediately, and the woman wondered if someone had been waiting behind it for the last hour. Ginny Potter stood behind the door, her hair ruffled slightly.

"Hello! You must be Linda Dawson!" said Ginny, wringing her fingers nervously. "Thank you for coming to see Al! Come in..." Ginny stepped aside to let the woman in.

Of course, the woman wasn't Linda Dawson. The identity was a fake, and she had only made it to meet Albus Potter, who she was so desperate to see. She needed to know if the boy was the Final Paradox—the only person powerful enough to battle against an unimaginable evil, and win.

"Harry's playing with James," Ginny said. "Perhaps you should meet the family... yes. Al is out in the backyard—I don't think he'll come in, sorry." Ginny led the woman into the parlor, which was very messy.

Magazines littered the coffee table (Most of them on Quidditch) and magical toys were scattered across the floor. A red-haired one-year-old girl was giggling and playing with miniscule versions of the Golden Trio and the Death Eaters. It was a very violent scene.

"Lily," Ginny muttered. "My youngest." Ginny looked around the sofa and pulled out a four-year-old throwing a very obvious tantrum while whacking around his toy broomstick.

"MUM! I WANNA GO TO UNCLE GEORGE'S!" screamed the boy. His jet black hair was infinitely messy, and his hazel eyes gazed at the woman curiously.

"Where's your father?" Ginny demanded. To the woman, she said, "This is James, my oldest."

The woman nodded and gave James a smile. James grinned back, the dimples on his cheeks showing, clearly not shy. He would be very good-looking and popular in a few years.

"I want ice-cream!" James whined, answering his mother's question in the most unhelpful way possible. Or perhaps, it wasn't an answer at all.

Ginny was saved by her husband. "Oh—the Healer came, then?" asked Harry Potter, poking his head out of the kitchen. His glasses were askew, and he was levitating a tub of ice-cream, clearly for James.

"Harry, put that back. James will make a mess, and we have a guest," Ginny snapped, ignoring her oldest son's screams of fury as Harry obediently went back into the kitchen.

A moment later, he came back out ice-cream free. "Hello, you must be Linda Dawson. Al is out in the backyard."

"Should we tell you a bit of background?" Ginny asked anxiously.

The woman nodded pleasantly, sitting down on the sofa. Lily looked up curiously and stopped moving the miniscule Hermione and the miniscule Bellatrix, both of which had been strangling each other a second before. (Hermione had been winning.) Ginny and Harry sat down as well, both looking worried.

"Al is a strange boy," began Ginny. "I'm sure you know about his birth?"

The woman nodded again.

"We'll understand if you don't manage to fix him," Harry interrupted.

Ginny sighed, "Well, I suppose I should tell you the problem if Harry's going to be so blunt. Al won't talk. He won't show any emotion. He's just _blank. _We don't know what he's thinking."

"The only times he shows emotion is when he's attacking James or exploding something," Harry added. "And he looks _happy_ then."

"It's not that he can't speak—according to St. Mungo's testing, his intelligence level is very, _very_ high. But Al just doesn't _want_ to speak. He won't do anything. He won't play with anyone or anything," Ginny continued.

"I can fix that," the woman said. Both Harry and Ginny looked extremely relieved.

"Thank you, Linda," Ginny said hurriedly. She hopped off the sofa and led the woman to the back door, which was open.

The woman smiled and walked out. The garden was huge and full of plants of all kinds. Flame-orange flowers opened and closed bizarrely in one corner, and pumpkins the size of carthorses thrived in another. To the woman's surprise, there was a bush abundant with strange radish-like fruit. The sign next to it said:

**STAY AWAY FROM THE DIRIGIBLE PLUMS**

Heeding the warning, the woman skirted around the bush and walked out into the middle of the yard. Finally, she saw the boy she had come for.

Albus Severus Potter was very skinny and pale, with a fair amount of freckles on his nose. Unlike his brother, he wasn't roguishly cute. (Or remotely cute at all, which was strange for young children.) Instead, there was a monotone look on his face. But his eyes told a different story; they were bright green and intelligent.

Albus looked up as the woman approached. He had been stroking a long serpent, but it slithered underneath the nearest bush as soon as it noticed her. The boy raised himself from his sleeping position on the ground and crossed his legs. He stared up at her blankly.

"So... you've been driving your parents mad," the woman said.

Albus said nothing.

The woman felt a twinge of annoyance. "You'll speak to snakes, but you can't speak to your parents?"

Albus still said nothing.

Deciding to try a different tactic, the woman sat down on the grass, not caring if her robes got dirty. She leaned down and looked into the three-year-old boy's eyes. "You're a powerful kid, aren't you? Nearly destroyed the whole of St. Mungo's while you were there. You wouldn't stop glowing bright green and shooting greenish lightning out of your palms."

Albus almost smiled.

Triumphant that she had gotten some response—however small—from the boy, the woman continued. "And you hurt your brother. So, do you like him?"

Albus truly smiled—rather sinisterly. He shook his head.

The woman could not believe that she had gotten the boy to shed his blank look so quickly. "Your brother seemed very spoiled to me. He likes getting what he wants. Do you get what you want, Al?"

Albus shook his head again. The blank look was back on his face.

Annoyed, the woman snapped, "That's too bad. Most of us don't get what we want. If you're who I think you are, you certainly won't get what you want. It's the occupational hazard of being a hero."

Albus looked a bit puzzled now. He cocked his head to the side, staring up at the woman.

"A hero, you ask? Well, I don't know. You remind me a bit of a villain. Well, you're the Final Paradox, so you're a dark essence. You're not exactly human."

Albus looked even more confused than before. He stood up and started to walk away, but the woman wouldn't let him. She stood up and walked in front of him, casting a dark shadow over him. He looked up, an expression of the utmost anger on his face.

"You'll stay here and listen to me," said the woman. "I'm not scared of you, even if you are one of the two most powerful beings in the world."

Albus looked even angrier.

"You're nothing but a weak coward who can't tell his parents that he loves them. You don't mind causing them sleepless nights, do you? And I wonder how the fate of the entire world could rest on the shoulders of a boy so _selfish_."

"I can talk to them," Albus said softly, looking hurt. "I'm not selfish." He clearly had a better knowledge of the English language than other three-year-olds.

"If you're not, why don't you prove it?" snarled the woman. "I'm a member of a group that wishes to save the world from a terrible evil. And you're the only one who has the power to save us all. I came to see whether it really was you, and it certainly is. Then why don't you act the part of a hero?"

Albus narrowed his eyes in fury, but there was a look of a determination on his face as well. "I will!" With that, the three-year-old boy ran off in the direction of the house. The woman followed him, quite pleased with herself.

Albus ran into his surprised father's arms, whispering, "I love you, Dad." He turned to his mother and clutched her as well. "I love you, Mum."

"AL!" gasped Ginny, pulling her son into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, Al..."

"I believe my work here is done," said the woman smugly.

"How can we ever repay you?" asked Harry.

"Oh, there's no need, thanks."

"We'll send a present to you," said Ginny quickly, ignoring the woman's protests. "Linda Dawson, right?"

The woman—who was not Linda Dawson at all—simply smiled. "It's been interesting to meet Albus. I expect he and I will see each other again. Maybe even at _Hogwarts_..." With that promise, the woman swept out of the house.

When Harry and Ginny would send a nice bouquet of flowers to St. Mungo's a few days later, they would find out that no Linda Dawson had ever worked there.

* * *

So, how did you like that? I chose an unimportant "prologue-like" scene because I didn't want to spoil anything, but I'm still fairly happy with it.

Thank you so much, everyone! Sorry for the delay. I'll try to finish the plastic surgery on book 3 by August 15, but if not, I'll try to get it up as soon as possible!

I won't say no to reviews, even this late. Let me know how much you liked this scene!

Crystalline Iridescentia out.

**P.S. I'd very much like to thank Thawk6 in Betaing most of the second book. Thawk6 has been very helpful in finding typos that most people can't catch. Best Beta ever! :) Check their profile out!**


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